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26LSO-0333
ORIGINAL Senate
ENGROSSED
File No
.
SF0057
ENROLLED ACT NO. 58,
SENATE
SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2026 Budget Session
AN ACT relating to public health and safety; requiring hospitals to list prices for medical items and services as specified; requiring the department of health to monitor and enforce the provisions of this act; providing penalties; providing definitions; requiring recommendations for future legislation; requiring rulemaking; making conforming amendments; providing a sunset date; and providing for effective dates.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
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W.S. 35
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2
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1501 through 35
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2
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1507 are created to read:
ARTICLE 15
HOSPITAL PRICE TRANSPARENCY ACT
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2
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1501.
Short title; purpose; sunset.
(a)
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Hospital Price Transparency Act."
(b)
The purpose of this act is to require hospitals to disclose prices for certain items and services and to provide civil penalties.
(c)
This article is repealed effective July 1, 2029.
35
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2
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1502.
Definitions.
(a)
As used in this act:
(i)
"Department" means the department of health;
(ii)
"De
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identified maximum negotiated charge" means the highest charge a facility has negotiated with any third party payors for a facility item or service;
(iii)
"De
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identified minimum negotiated charge" means the lowest charge a facility has negotiated with any third party payors for a facility item or service;
(iv)
"Discounted cash price" means the charge that applies to a person who pays cash, or a cash equivalent, for a facility item or service;
(v)
"Facility" means a hospital located within the state and licensed under title 35, chapter 2, article 9 of the Wyoming statutes;
(vi)
"Facility item or service" means all items and services, including individual items and services and service packages, that may be provided by a facility to a patient in connection with an inpatient admission or an outpatient department visit, including:
(A)
Supplies and procedures;
(B)
Room and board;
(C)
Use of the facility and other areas, generally referred to as facility fees;
(D)
Services of health care providers, generally referred to as professional charges;
(E)
Any other item or service offered by the facility.
(vii)
"Gross charge" means the charge for a facility item or service that is reflected on a facility's list, less any discounts;
(viii)
"Machine
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readable format" means a digital representation of information that can be imported or read into a computer system for processing;
(ix)
"Payor
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specific negotiated charge" means the charge that a facility has negotiated with a third party payor for a facility item or service;
(x)
"Shoppable service" means a facility item or service that may be scheduled by a patient in advance;
(xi)
"Standard charge" means the regular rate established by the facility for a facility item or service provided to a specific group of paying patients. The term includes all of the following:
(A)
The gross charge;
(B)
The payor
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specific negotiated charge;
(C)
The de
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identified minimum negotiated charge;
(D)
The de
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identified maximum negotiated charge;
(E)
The discounted cash price.
(xii)
"Third party payor" means a person who is, by statute, contract or agreement, legally responsible for payment of a claim for a facility item or service;
(xiii)
"This act" means W.S. 35
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2
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1501 through 35
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2
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1507.
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2
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1503.
List of standard charges required.
(a)
A facility shall:
(i)
Maintain a list of all standard charges for facility items or services in accordance with this section;
(ii)
Maintain a list of the standard charges required under paragraph (i) of this subsection for not less than three hundred (300) shoppable services provided by the facility, or as many of the shoppable services the facility provides, in accordance with this section; and
(iii)
Make the lists required by paragraphs (i) and (ii) of this subsection available to the public at all times.
(b)
The lists required to be maintained by a facility under subsection (a) of this section shall reflect the standard charges applicable to each location as required by federal rules and regulations.
(c)
The lists required under subsection (a) of this section shall include the following items, if applicable:
(i)
A description of each facility item or service provided by the facility;
(ii)
The following charges, expressed in dollar amounts, for each individual facility item or service:
(A)
All standard charges;
(B)
Any code used by the facility for purposes of accounting or billing; and
(C)
A list of charges for shoppable services as required by paragraph (a)(ii) of this section, including but not limited to:
(I)
The charges for shoppable services specified by the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services in 45 C.F.R. part 180; or
(II)
If the facility does not provide all of the shoppable services described by subdivision (I) of this subparagraph, then the facility shall provide as many of the charges for those shoppable services as the facility does provide.
(d)
The lists required by subsection (a) of this section shall be displayed in a prominent location on the home page of the facility's publicly accessible website or accessible through a link on that website.
(e)
The lists required under subsection (a) of this section shall:
(i)
Be available:
(A)
Free of charge;
(B)
Without having to establish a user account or password;
(C)
Without having to submit personal identifying information;
(D)
Without having to enter a code to access the list.
(ii)
Be accessible to a common commercial operator of an internet search engine to the extent necessary for the search engine to index and display the lists as a result in response to a search query of a user of the search engine;
(iii)
Be digitally searchable;
(iv)
Use the naming convention specified by the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services.
(f)
Each facility shall update the lists required by subsection (a) of this section not less than annually. Each facility shall clearly indicate on its website the date that the lists were updated.
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1504.
Monitoring.
(a)
The department shall monitor each facility's compliance with the requirements of this act using any of the following methods:
(i)
Evaluating complaints made by persons to the department regarding noncompliance with the act;
(ii)
Reviewing any analysis prepared regarding noncompliance with this act;
(iii)
Auditing the websites of facilities for compliance with this act.
(b)
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, in considering an application for renewal of a facility's license or certificate, the department may consider whether a facility is or has been in substantial compliance with this act.
35
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2
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1505.
Material violation; corrective action plan.
(a)
A facility materially violates this act if the facility fails to comply with the requirements of W.S. 35
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2
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1503.
(b)
If the department determines that a facility has materially violated this act, the department shall issue a material violation notice to the facility and require that the facility submit a corrective action plan. The notice shall indicate the form and manner that the corrective action plan shall be submitted to the department and shall clearly state the date by which the facility shall submit the plan.
(c)
The facility that receives a notice under subsection (b) of this section shall:
(i)
Submit a corrective action plan in the form and manner, and by the specified date, prescribed by the notice of violation; and
(ii)
Act to comply with the corrective action plan by the date required by paragraph (d)(ii) of this section.
(d)
A corrective action plan submitted to the department shall:
(i)
Describe in detail the corrective action the facility will take to address any violation identified by the department in the notice provided under subsection (b) of this section; and
(ii)
Provide a date that corresponds with federal rules and regulations by which the facility will complete the corrective action plan.
(e)
A corrective action plan is subject to review and approval by the department. After the department reviews and approves a facility's corrective action plan, the department shall monitor and evaluate the facility's compliance with the plan.
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2
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1506.
Civil penalty for violations.
(a)
The department may impose a civil penalty on a facility if a facility fails to:
(i)
Respond to the department's notice to submit a corrective action plan within the timeframe specified by federal rules and regulations; or
(ii)
Comply with the requirements of a corrective action plan submitted to the department within the timeframe specified by federal rules and regulations.
(b)
A civil penalty imposed under subsection (a) of this section shall be:
(i)
For facilities categorized as critical access hospitals:
(A)
For a first offense within any twelve (12) month period, one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day for each day the department imposes a civil penalty under subsection (a) of this section;
(B)
For a second offense within any twelve (12) month period, five hundred dollars ($500.00) per day for each day the department imposes a civil penalty under subsection (a) of this section;
(C)
For a third or subsequent offense within any twelve (12) month period, one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per day for each day the department imposes a civil penalty under subsection (a) of this section.
(ii)
For hospitals with prospective payment systems, one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per day for each day within any twelve (12) month period the department imposes a civil penalty under subsection (a) of this section.
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2
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1507.
Legislative recommendations.
The department may propose to the legislature any necessary recommendations for amending this act, including recommendations in response to amendments by the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services to 45 C.F.R. part 180.
Section 2
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W.S. 35‑2‑905(a) by creating a new paragraph (vi) is amended to read:
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2
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905.
Conditions, monitoring or revoking a license.
(a)
The division may place conditions upon a license, install a division approved monitor or manager at the owner's or operator's expense, suspend admissions, or deny, suspend or revoke a license issued under this act if a licensee:
(vi)
Violates any provision of W.S. 35
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2
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1501 through 35
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2
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1507. This paragraph is repealed effective July 1, 2029.
Section 3.
The department of health shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.
Section 4.
(a)
Except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2026
.
(b)
Sections 3 and 4 of this act are effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.
(END)
Speaker of the House
President of the Senate
Governor
TIME APPROVED: _________
DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this act originated in the Senate.
Chief Clerk
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