MO SB956

Requires health care providers and insurers to provide patients timely written cost estimates for elective or nonemergent services upon request, with exceptions for emergency care and providers documenting their twenty most common charges publicly.

Establishes twenty criteria for insurer programs that publicly compare provider quality and cost efficiency, including use of nationally-recognized independent review organizations, consumer and provider input, disclosure of measures and methodologies, and alignment with National Quality Forum standards.

Prohibits health carriers and providers from entering into contracts that restrict the use of medical claims data for public reporting on comparative cost, quality, and efficiency information, while allowing data use consistent with patient charter standards and antitrust law.

Requires any person publicly disclosing health care quality and cost efficiency data to identify the measure source, evidence-based science, and peer review process used to validate the data as objective quality indicators.

Establishes enforcement authority with the Department of Health and Senior Services imposing penalties up to $1,000 for violations by non-insurers, and the Department of Insurance enforcing violations by health insurers under chapter 374.