This bill aims to enhance the market review process for the Massachusetts health care system. The key provisions include:

– Establishing a technical advisory committee within the Health Policy Commission to provide input on setting the health care cost growth benchmark.
– Requiring the Health Policy Commission to monitor the cost growth of health care entities and allowing the Commission to require entities that exceed the benchmark to file and implement performance improvement plans.
– Expanding the scope and authority of the Division of Health Insurance within the Department of Banking, Insurance and Health Insurance to oversee the health insurance market and prioritize affordability during rate review.
– Creating a Health Resource Planning Council to develop a state health plan to identify health care needs and resources in the Commonwealth.
– Enhancing data reporting requirements for providers, provider organizations, and other health care entities to support the cost monitoring and review process.

This bill aims to ensure hospital price transparency. It mandates that every hospital in Massachusetts must make available to the public a list of all standard charges for all items and services they provide according to 45 C.F.R. § 180.50, an existing federal regulation enforcing price transparency. This list must be in a machine-readable format, meaning it can be automatically read and processed by a computer, and placed on the hospital’s website.

This bill pertains to the action of heightening the degree of transparency within the healthcare industry in Massachusetts. It mandates that the Center, which could be a healthcare facility or agency, should annually disclose extensive data related to various hospital services provided.