In Maine, a state senator is proposing legislation that would direct a state agency to publish an annual study of hospitals' financial data to help consumers compare prices, according to a Portland Press Herald report.
The legislation, sponsored by Democrat Sen. Geoffrey Gratwick, MD, would require the Maine Health Data Organization, an independent state agency that collects clinical and financial healthcare information, to publish an annual report of hospitals' financial data.
It would also establish an 11-member Commission to Study Transparency, Costs and Accountability of Health Care System Financing to study hospitals' financial data and evaluate strategies to reduce healthcare costs. Those commission members would be appointed by state House and Senate leaders.
"This bill, I have to say, comes from deep within me," Sen. Gratwick said in the report. "It comes from 40 years of medical practice."
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The legislation, sponsored by Democrat Sen. Geoffrey Gratwick, MD, would require the Maine Health Data Organization, an independent state agency that collects clinical and financial healthcare information, to publish an annual report of hospitals' financial data.
It would also establish an 11-member Commission to Study Transparency, Costs and Accountability of Health Care System Financing to study hospitals' financial data and evaluate strategies to reduce healthcare costs. Those commission members would be appointed by state House and Senate leaders.
"This bill, I have to say, comes from deep within me," Sen. Gratwick said in the report. "It comes from 40 years of medical practice."
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