A Republican bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, the Judiciary, Armed Services, Veterans' Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The "Great American Healthcare Act" introduces significant changes to the healthcare system, focusing on transparency, drug access, and health savings accounts. It modifies rules for health savings accounts by increasing contribution limits and allowing coverage for wellness expenses. The legislation creates "health marketplace pools" to act as employers for group health plans and mandates strict price transparency for various healthcare providers. It also requires detailed pricing disclosures from service providers and establishes a framework for expanded-access prescription drugs. Additionally, the bill implements a rebate system for certain negotiated drugs and mandates clearer billing and insurance information for patients.
Yes· 3 of 15
- Scored +7
Does this lower the price of prescription medicines?
The bill mandates rebates for selected drugs and expands access to various prescription therapies.
- Scored +6
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?
The bill significantly increases transparency in healthcare pricing and claims data.
- Scored +5
Does this make health care easier to get in general?
Expanded-access provisions aim to increase patient access to certain prescription drugs via various providers.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Expanded Health Savings Account (HSA) Uses: The bill allows HSAs to cover "qualified wellness expenses" such as healthy food, vitamins, dietary supplements, and certain sports and fitness expenses (Section 108).
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Increased HSA Contribution Limits: The legislation modifies the Internal Revenue Code to increase contribution limitations for HSAs (Section 102).
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Enhanced Price Transparency: Hospitals, clinical diagnostic laboratories, imaging providers, and ambulatory surgical centers are required to make their standard charges and negotiated prices public (Sections 302, 303, 304, and 305).
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Improved Health Plan Data Access: The bill requires group health plans to provide better access to claims and encounter data, which can help determine the accuracy of payments (Section s 307).
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Bankruptcy Protections: Health savings accounts would receive the same bankruptcy protections as individual retirement accounts (Section 109).
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Health Marketplace Pools: The bill allows for the formation of marketplace pools that can offer group health insurance to members without conditioning membership on health status (Section 202).
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Improved Transparency for Health Plans: Health plan service providers must provide detailed, quarterly information regarding pricing, fee schedules, and all remuneration, including rebates and discounts, at no cost to the group health plan (Section 2799A-12(b)(1)).
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Clearer Insurance Information for Patients: Group health plans and insurance issuers are required to provide notifications that include plain language descriptions of services, billing codes, the amount the plan is paying, and the patient's remaining cost-sharing and out-of-pocket totals (Section 310(a)(1) and (2)).
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Enhanced Billing Clarity: Healthcare providers must provide written, itemized bills that include plain language descriptions, billing codes, and information regarding charity care policies (Section 311(a)(1)).
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Protection Against Unexpected Medical Bills: Healthcare providers are prohibited from taking collection actions if they have not provided a required itemized bill or if the charges exceed the provided good faith estimate, unless the extra costs were due to unforeseen, documented medical necessities (Section 311(a)(2)).
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Increased Access to Medication: The bill establishes a system for "expanded-access prescription drugs" to be dispensed and administered by qualified individuals like pharmacists and nurse practitioners (Section 501(a)(3)).
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Lower Costs for Selected Drugs: For certain drugs subject to maximum fair price negotiation, manufacturers must pay rebates to the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, and beneficiary coinsurance is recalculated based on the negotiated price (Section 402(b)(1) and (2)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Civil Monetary Penalties for Non-compliance: Hospitals, laboratories, imaging providers, and surgical centers could face significant daily fines if they fail to meet the new price transparency requirements (Sections 302, 303, 304, and 305).
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Increased Administrative Requirements: The bill imposes new, strict disclosure and attestation requirements on hospitals and health insurance plans (Sections 302 and 306).
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Strict Penalties for Providers: Health plan service providers that fail to provide required information may face civil penalties of $100,000 per day (Section 2799A-12(d)).
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Financial Burdens on Healthcare Facilities: Healthcare providers that fail to comply with itemized billing requirements may be subject to penalties of up to $10,000 per instance (Section 311(b)(1)).
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State-Level Restrictions on Medication Access: States have the authority to "opt-out" of the expanded-access drug provisions by maintaining laws that prohibit or limit the prescribing or dispensing of such drugs by covered individuals (Section 501(a)(3)(E)(ii)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Healthcare
- Does this lower the price of prescription medicines? — The bill mandates rebates for selected drugs and expands access to various prescription therapies. Does this make health care easier to get in general? — Expanded-access provisions aim to increase patient access to certain prescription drugs via various providers. Does this put more money into Medicare, the health coverage for people over 65? — The bill implements drug rebates that are deposited into the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Does this lower what a hospital stay costs? — Requirements for itemized billing and price transparency may lead to more predictable healthcare costs. Does this lower what people pay for private health insurance? — Increased transparency in claims and billing may help control insurance costs.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would retired people be better off under this? — The drug rebates directly impact Medicare, which heavily serves retirees. Would people over 65 be better off under this? — The drug rebates and expanded access benefit Medicare beneficiaries and those with chronic conditions. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — Increased pricing transparency and itemized billing requirements may protect lower-income families from unexpected costs. Would middle-income households be better off under this? — Price transparency and drug rebates may help reduce out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The bill significantly increases transparency in healthcare pricing and claims data. Does this give the federal government more power? — The bill grants the Secretary more oversight and enforcement power regarding healthcare providers and service providers. Does this protect people from being watched or searched? — The bill continues to emphasize and enforce existing privacy standards for health data.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices? — The bill enhances consumer protection by requiring healthcare price transparency and itemized billing. Does this cut taxes for middle-income families? — Increases HSA contribution limits and allows more flexible spending for wellness.
- Education And Technology
- Does this give people more control over their personal data? — The bill reinforces privacy standards through mandated compliance with HIPAA and related regulations.
- 8/3/2026
- Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, the Judiciary, Armed Services, Veterans' Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Introduced in House