POLISCOPE
Back to feed
HR8684FEDERALin_committee

Transparency in Billing Act of 2026

May 7, 2026

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Where This Stands

Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Signed

Currently in_committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Last action
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 34 - 0.May 21, 2026

Version history & redline

2 versions on file
Comparing Introduced in HouseReported in House
[Generated by AI - not the official text]
Expansion of Enforcement Authority in the Transparency in Billing Act • The bill now explicitly grants the Secretary of Labor the authority to enforce 'honest billing requirements' for hospitals, rather than just referencing general billing standards. (high significance)
removed addedOfficial text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8684 removed: Introduced added: Reported in House removed: (IH)] added: (RH)] <DOC> added: Union Calendar No. 652 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8684 added: [Report No. 119-748] To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group health insurance coverage […] 2026 Ms. Foxx (for herself and Mr. Scott of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce added: July 13, 2026 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 7, 2026] _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group […] of this section, the Secretary shall establish a process under which a suspected violation of this section may be reported to such Secretary. ``(c) removed: Off-Campus added: Off-campus Outpatient Department of a Provider Defined.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term `off-campus outpatient department of a provider' means a department of a provider […] ENFORCEMENT. Section 502 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)(6), by striking ``or removed: (9)'' added: (13)'' and inserting removed: ``(9), added: ``(13), or removed: (13)''; added: (14)''; and (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following new paragraph: removed: ``(13) The added: ``(14) Secretarial enforcement authority relating to honest billing requirements.--The Secretary may assess a civil monetary penalty against a hospital for a violation removed: under added: of section 901 in an amount-- ``(A) in the case of a hospital with not more than 30 beds (as determined under section 180.90(c)(2)(ii)(D) of […] to exceed $5,500 per each such day.''. SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION. The Secretary of Labor shall implement the amendments made by this Act by rulemaking. removed: <all>added: Union Calendar No. 652 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8684 [Report No. 119-748] _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group health insurance coverage to only pay claims submitted by hospitals that have in place policies and procedures to ensure accurate billing practices, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ July 13, 2026 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
Redline computed from the official version text (record lane).View this version →

The Frame

What this does

Starting January 1, 2027, hospitals must include specific location identifiers on claims for off-campus services, or they may face daily civil penalties of up to $5,500, which could impact how health plans process and pay for patient care.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Hospitals

Hospitals must update billing systems to include unique identifiers for off-campus departments and face potential fines for non-compliance.

Group health plan enrollees

Patients receiving care at off-campus outpatient departments are protected from liability for claims that do not meet the new identification standards.

Group health plans and insurance issuers

These entities are prohibited from paying claims for off-campus services that lack the required unique health identifier.

What changed

Current stage: in_committee.

What's next

Floor Vote.

Summary

This bill requires hospitals to use unique identification numbers for s when submitting insurance claims to group health plans. It aims to ensure billing accuracy and allows the government to fine hospitals that fail to comply with these new reporting requirements.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Why It Matters

Starting January 1, 2027, hospitals must include specific location identifiers on claims for off-campus services, or they may face daily civil penalties of up to $5,500, which could impact how health plans process and pay for patient care.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does this bill affect my hospital bills?
The bill requires hospitals to use specific identifiers for off-campus outpatient locations on insurance claims. It also prevents hospitals from billing you for services if they fail to follow these identification requirements.
When do these new rules start?
The requirements apply to health plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
What happens if a hospital does not follow these rules?
The Secretary of Labor can assess civil monetary penalties against the hospital, ranging from $300 to $5,500 per day depending on the size of the hospital.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Lobbying Activity

ADOBE INC

$450,000

2026

COMPUTER INDUSTRYDEFENSEGOVERNMENT ISSUESCOPYRIGHT/PATENT/TRADEMARK

IT Modernization and Digital Service delivery issues; Digital Service Delivery IT Acquisition, and Content Authenticity and digital provenance issues; Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI); artificial intelligence; content provenance; privacy; technology in and competition issues; AI innovation and the economy; Content provenance and AI Labelling; IT modernization; Support for H.R. 9112 - CREATOR Act

AARP

$4,110,000

2026

HEALTH ISSUESMEDICARE/MEDICAIDLAW ENFORCEMENT/CRIME/CRIMINAL JUSTICEPHARMACY

P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 8867, Planning for Long-term Aging Needs (PLAN) Act H.R. 5861, Legacy Act of 2025 H.R. 9393, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. H.R. 9396, the Prior Authorization Accountability Act. S. 4916, the Aging with Artificial Intelligence Act. H.R. 8100, Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act. S. 3886, Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act. H.R. 6766/S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. H.R. 7966/S. 4118, Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. S. 2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 H.R. 5575, the Firefighters Assisting Seniors to Emergency Response (FASTER) Act of 2025. H.R. 3954/S. 4641, Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act. H.R.5554/S.2831, Stand Strong for Medicare Act. S. 3439/H.R. 6735, Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act and efforts related to the bill S. 1227/H.R. 2491, Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act S. 668/H.R. 3183, Supporting Access to Falls Education and Prevention and Strengthening Training Efforts and Promoting Safety Initiatives (SAFE STEPS) for Veterans Act of 2025 CMS-1851-P, Hospice Proposed rule. CMS-1843-P, Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed rule. CMS-1844-P, Home Health Proposed rule. No bill number. Health care transparency. No bill number. Discussed use of artificial intelligence and health data technology. No bill number. Discussed health-related policies and activities around the fall respiratory virus season. No bill number. Discussed health insurance affordability proposals. No bill number. Discussed Nursing Home staffing standards, safety, and quality. No bill number. Discussed Nursing home transparency and ownership requirements. No bill number. Discussed home health, hospice, and long-term care. No bill number. Discussed falls prevention. No bill number. Discussed social isolation. No bill number. Discussed HUD Assisted Living Requirements No bill number. Discussed family caregiving. No bill number. Discussed AARP paper on Medicare Caregiver Training Services. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid community engagement interim final rule, including the family caregiver exemption. No bill number. Discussed the paid direct care workforce in long-term care. No bill number. Discussed the unaffordability of long-term care. No bill number. Discussed Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and Medicaid HCBS spousal impoverishment protections. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid fraud and family caregivers, Medicaid self-direction programs. No bill number. Discussed sandwich generation family caregiver hearing and submitted a statement for the record discussing family caregivers and sandwich generation caregivers, programs that support them, AARP caregiving resources, and federal policies to support sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers more broadly. No bill number. Discussed long-term care. No bill number. CMS-2453-NC; Medicaid Program; 2028 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set Submitted comments No bill number. Discussed expanding access to home care. No bill number. Discussed the increasing cost of home care No bill number. Discussed HSA use for telehealth chronic care management services/subscriptions. No bill number. Discussed artificial intelligence and technology

60 Plus Association

2026

TAXATION/INTERNAL REVENUE CODEENVIRONMENT/SUPERFUNDCOPYRIGHT/PATENT/TRADEMARKHEALTH ISSUES

Signed a coalition letter opposing any efforts to raise the corporate tax rate above the 21% level set in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Signed a coalition in support of the Family Business Legacy Act, H.R. 6329. This legislation creates parity in the tax code between the estate and gift taxes by allowing an estate tax deduction for contributions to 501(c)(4), (c)(5), and (c)(6) organizations. Signed a coalition letter urging opposition to proposals that would raise taxes on carried interest investment income.The letter is urging Congress to reject the misnamed Carried Interest Fairness Act, legislation recently reintroduced by Senators Tammy Baldwin, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and other progressive members of Congress. This legislation that would increase the tax rate on carried interest investment by 70%, from 23.8% to 40.8%. Signed a coalition letter in support of H.R.574 - ALIGN Act and highlight the 100% bonus depreciation provision's importance as the tax cut reauthorization efforts continue. Signed a coalition to support of repealing IRA's green new deal subsidies in reconciliation to pay for tax cuts. Signed a coalition letter regarding digital services taxes (DST) in an effort to stop Canadas imposition of a discriminatory digital services tax (DST) on U.S. firms and your efforts to include restrictions on the imposition of DSTs and other unfair digital policies in recently announced trade agreements-providing a model for future trade negotiations. Signed a coalition letter urging the President to index capital gains for inflation.

BLOOM ENERGY

$340,000

SMALL BUSINESS MAJORITY FOUNDATION, INC.

Sponsors

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Increased Federal Oversight of Hospital Billing

The bill shifts the burden of billing accuracy to hospitals by linking payment eligibility to the use of specific location-based identifiers, enforced by federal civil penalties.

Connected Entities

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance65
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy20
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz15
    Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools

Share or embed this record

POLISCOPE publisher tools

Share or embed this record