Legislation requires clinics to disclose facility fees they charge to patients

Last week, bipartisan legislation chief-authored by Senator Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake) to increase health care price transparency unanimously passed the Minnesota State Senate. The bill requires provider-based medical clinics to disclose facility fees that they charge patients.

“There is unanimous agreement that the price of health care has spiraled out of control,” said Senator Draheim. “By requiring the disclosure of often hidden facility fees, patients can begin to understand exactly what they are paying for and why.”

This legislation was passed by the legislature in 2018, however it was unfortunately vetoed by former Governor Dayton. This builds on other legislation authored by Senator Draheim and signed into law that requires doctors to give patients a full faith estimate of their expected health care costs and disclose the prices of their most common 25 procedures.

“Through more transparency, we can hope to bend the cost curve of health care downward,” added Senator Draheim. “I will continue to champion policies that empower patients and aim to make visits to the doctor more affordable.”