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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa Senate Passes Patient's Right to Save Act Requiring Health Care Price Transparency and Deductible Credits
Last action · February 3, 2026: Tabled until future meeting.
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What This Bill Proposed
Senate File 319 requires health care providers to publicly disclose s for services and entitles insured patients to receive deductible credits and cash savings incentives when they pay cash prices below the . s and providers are prohibited from entering into contracts that restrict cash pricing below contracted rates or prevent the disclosure of cash prices. The measure applies to health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, and directs the Department of Administrative Services to study a similar program for state employees by September 1, 2026.
Patients who pay out-of-pocket cash prices below their health plan's receive credit toward their in-network deductibles and can split financial savings with their , altering how medical expenses accumulate toward out-of-pocket maximums.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
health care providers
Health care providers must publicly disclose discounted cash prices, review them annually, inform patients of cash payment options, itemize bills, and are freed from restrictive contract clauses regarding cash pricing.
health carriers
Health carriers must disclose average allowed amounts, process deductible credits for qualifying cash payments, provide online submission forms for payment proofs, and establish savings incentive programs.
covered persons
Covered persons gain the right to receive deductible credits and split financial savings when electing discounted cash prices below average allowed amounts.
state employees and retirees
State employees and retirees are subject to a cost-effectiveness study by the Department of Administrative Services regarding potential implementation of savings incentive and deductible credit programs by 2027.
Key Facts
- Health care providers must disclose the discounted cash price for each specific health care service for which they accept cash payment and review these prices at least annually.
- Providers may satisfy cash price disclosure requirements by complying with federal hospital price transparency regulations under 45 C.F.R. pt. 180.
- Prior to scheduled services, providers must inform patients of their right to pay via discounted cash price and note that cash prices may differ from carrier-negotiated rates.
- Providers and health carriers are prohibited from entering into contracts that restrict providers from offering cash prices below contracted rates or disclosing those cash prices.
Show all 10 facts
- Health carriers must disclose the average allowed amount for each covered health care service to their members.
- Covered persons who elect to receive services at a discounted cash price below the average allowed amount receive credit toward their in-network cost-sharing.
- Health carriers must provide a downloadable or interactive online form for covered persons to submit proof of payment.
- If a covered person pays a discounted cash price above the average allowed amount, the plan credits cost-sharing in an amount equal to the lesser of the cash price or average allowed amount.
- Covered persons have access to a savings incentive program that splits the difference between the discounted cash price and average allowed amount equally between the patient and the health plan.
- The Department of Administrative Services must analyze the cost-effectiveness of offering a savings incentive program and deductible credit for state employees and retirees by August 1, 2026, and report to the general assembly by September 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can health insurance companies stop doctors from offering lower cash prices?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Tabled in the House.
Procedural history
18 actions- Feb 3, 2026Iowa LegislatureTabled until future meeting.
- Jan 21, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 01/27/2026 12:00PM RM 103.
- Jan 14, 2026HouseSubcommittee: Bossman, Barker and Srinivas. H.J. 98 .
- Dec 31, 2025Iowa Legislature* * * * * END OF 2025 ACTIONS * * * * *
- Mar 19, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Mar 17, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 03/19/2025 8:00AM RM 103.
Show 12 earlier actions
- Mar 13, 2025HouseSubcommittee: Lundgren, Srinivas and Wilz, H. H.J. 657 .
- Mar 12, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time, referred to Commerce. H.J. 615 .
- Mar 12, 2025HouseMessage from Senate. H.J. 609 .
- Mar 11, 2025SenateImmediate message. S.J. 490 .
- Mar 11, 2025SenateFloorPassed Senate , yeas 47, nays 0. S.J. 488 .
- Feb 13, 2025SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 272 .
- Feb 13, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 267 .
- Feb 12, 2025Iowa LegislatureCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 319 .
- Jan 27, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends amendment and passage.
- Jan 23, 2025SenateSubcommittee Meeting: 01/27/2025 2:00PM Senate Lounge.
- Jan 22, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee: Klimesh, Costello, and Petersen.
- Jan 22, 2025Iowa LegislatureIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Health and Human Services.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Integration of Cash Pricing into Insurance Deductibles
The bill bridges direct-pay cash pricing with traditional health insurance structures by mandating that out-of-pocket cash payments count toward insurance deductibles.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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