Bill > H1017

This bill proposes to establish standards for the Attorney General's (AGO) review of health care provider practices by amending existing Massachusetts General Laws. Specifically, it modifies Section 13 of Chapter 6D to require a commission to issue a preliminary report identifying providers or provider organizations that hold a dominant market share and charge prices significantly higher than the median for similar services, or have substantially higher medical expenses than the median for comparable providers. Additionally, the bill inserts a new Section 11O into Chapter 12, defining certain actions by providers or provider organizations as unfair methods of competition and deceptive practices. These defined practices include engaging in boycotts, coercion, or intimidation that unreasonably restricts or monopolizes healthcare services, payment contracting, or insurance business; seeking excessive, unreasonable, discriminatory, or predatory rates for network contracts that could lead to carrier violations; unfairly discriminating between similarly covered individuals; and making untrue, deceptive, or misleading public statements.