Michigan Just Sent a Clear Message on Healthcare Price Transparency

Key takeaways

• Michigan's SB95 passed the state Senate 35–1, a rare bipartisan margin
• Non-compliant hospitals would be barred from collecting patient debt incurred during periods of non-compliance
• 18% of hospitalized patients hold more than $250 in medical debt—making the penalty financially significant
• Compliance with the federal Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule has been shockingly low since 2021, leaving patients and employers to navigate opaque costs

Last week, our CEO Ahmed Marmoush discussed how President Trump's recent executive order on healthcare price transparency is an important step forward—but also highlighted how it would take a collection of political, professional and personal advocates to create more velocity towards meaningful change. A mere three days after his blog was posted, some promising progress was made towards changing our current environment of opaque, confusing hospital prices.

Specifically, on March 8, the Michigan Senate passed the Hospital Price Transparency Act (SB95) with a bipartisan vote of 35-1. The bill, introduced by Republican Senator Jonathan Lindsey, proposes that hospitals failing to comply with federal transparency laws will no longer be allowed to collect patient debt incurred during periods of non-compliance. Considering that 18% of all hospitalized patients hold more than $250 worth of medical debt, this could represent a significant financial hit to hospitals that aren’t in compliance.

The reaction here at Handl Health was, in a word, excitement. We feel this legislation supports what we know to be true - that patients, employers and regular citizens deserve to understand what they will pay for healthcare, and be able to make more informed choices about the right providers.

Why does the new Michigan law matter?

Despite federal mandates in place since 2021, a shockingly low percentage of hospitals nationwide have fully complied with the Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule, leaving patients, brokers, employers and TPAs on their own to interpret the labyrinth of hospital costs. This lack of transparency often led to unpredictability, financial stress and barriers to informed decision-making.

After the recent executive order by the Trump administration doubling down on hospital price transparency, the Michigan legislators’ state-level push towards hospital price accountability with SB95 seems to be a politically-savvy move by Senator Lindsey to signal alignment with White House priorities. By going one step further and tying compliance directly to a significant hospital financial interest, Michigan is creating strong incentives to take transparency seriously.

What should other states do next?

It's encouraging to see state leaders stepping up, but Michigan shouldn't be alone. Average citizens, employers, healthcare leaders and legislators in other states need to watch closely and consider advocating for similar legislation. Let's keep the momentum.