WEST virginia Legislature

2016 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 4531

By Delegates Rowe, Deem, Rohrbach, B. White, Faircloth, Guthrie, Miley, Perdue, Reynolds, Ellington and Bates

[Introduced February 12, 2016; Referred
to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §16-5B-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring hospitals, or other similar institutions, to publish a cost list for the most commonly performed procedures that are billed by the hospital or other similar institution.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §16-5B-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 5B. HOSPITALS AND SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS.

§16-5B-9. Hospitals and similar institutions required to supply patients, upon request, with one specifically itemized statement of charges assessed to patient, at no cost to patient; publishing cost list for commonly performed procedures.

(a) Any hospital, or other similar institution, required to be licensed under this article, upon request, shall supply to any patient who has received services from the hospital, whether on an inpatient or outpatient basis, one itemized statement which describes with specificity the exact service or medication for which a charge is assessed to the patient at the institution, at no additional cost to the patient. In the event of the death of any such patient, a relative or guardian may make such request and shall receive such statement at no additional cost.

(b) After the effective date of this subsection, all hospitals, or other similar institutions, required to be licensed under this article, shall publish a cost list for at least twenty-five of the most commonly performed procedures each identified by standard diagnosis and procedure codes as regularly billed by the hospital or other similar institution.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require hospitals, or other similar institutions, to publish a cost list for the most commonly performed procedures that are billed by the hospital or other similar institution.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.