Congressional Price Transparency Proposals Would Expand Reporting Requirements for Ambulatory Surgical Centers

August 2026

At-a-Glance

Congress is advancing bipartisan legislation that would significantly expand federal price transparency requirements for Medicare-participating ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs). The leading proposals are:

• S. 2355 – Patients Deserve Price Tags Act (Senate HELP Committee)
• H.R. 9393 – Lower Costs, More Transparency Act of 2026 (House Energy & Commerce Committee)
• H.R. 9645 – Health Care Price Certainty for All Americans Act (House Ways & Means Committee)

On July 21, 2026, the House Energy & Commerce Committee unanimously approved H.R. 9393 (45-0) after adopting a manager's amendment that combined several bipartisan transparency and healthcare reforms. The Senate HELP Committee is expected to consider S. 2355 this week.

While LUGPA supports meaningful price transparency, these proposals would impose substantial new reporting and compliance obligations on independent physician-owned ASCs with uncertain benefits for patients.

Why It Matters

Independent physician-owned ASCs provide high-quality, lower-cost surgical care and are an important alternative to hospital outpatient departments.

The pending legislation would require ASCs to publicly report extensive pricing information, maintain machine-readable files, provide consumer-facing pricing tools, and submit ongoing compliance attestations. These requirements could disproportionately burden smaller independent ASCs while doing little to improve patients' understanding of their actual out-of-pocket costs.

Comparing the Proposals

LUGPA's Concerns

Administrative Burden

Independent ASCs would face significant new compliance obligations, including:

• Maintaining machine-readable pricing files
• Tracking payer-specific negotiated rates
• Developing consumer-facing pricing information
• Completing compliance attestations
• Responding to CMS audits and enforcement activities

These requirements are considerably more burdensome for physician-owned ASCs than for large health systems with dedicated compliance staff.

Limited Value for Patients

Published prices rarely reflect what patients actually pay.

Out-of-pocket costs depend on insurance design, deductibles, coinsurance, physician professional fees, anesthesia, pathology, and other clinical factors. Static pricing lists may therefore provide incomplete—or even misleading—information for patients making healthcare decisions.

Competitive Concerns

Public disclosure of negotiated commercial payment rates could unintentionally strengthen the negotiating position of large hospital systems while disadvantaging independent physician-owned ASCs.

Rather than increasing competition, broad disclosure requirements could facilitate market consolidation and reduce competitive pricing over time.

Ownership Disclosure

The Senate proposal requires disclosure of ownership, investment, and management relationships.

Physician ownership is a defining feature of the ASC model and contributes to quality, accountability, and efficiency. LUGPA is concerned these additional reporting requirements would increase compliance costs without providing meaningful patient benefit.

LUGPA Recommendations

LUGPA encourages Congress to:

• Focus transparency requirements on information that helps patients understand their expected out-of-pocket costs.
• Minimize duplicative reporting requirements and unnecessary administrative burden.
• Maintain annual reporting rather than more frequent updates.
• Expand compliance flexibilities, including approved price estimator tools.
• Evaluate the impact of negotiated-rate disclosures on competition and healthcare consolidation.
• Ensure new requirements do not disproportionately burden independent physician-owned ASCs.

Bottom Line

Congress continues to prioritize healthcare price transparency, and bipartisan momentum suggests new ASC transparency requirements are likely to advance.

LUGPA supports policies that provide patients with meaningful, actionable pricing information. However, current proposals risk imposing significant administrative burdens, exposing sensitive competitive information, and accelerating healthcare consolidation without meaningfully improving patient decision-making.

LUGPA will continue working with Congress to ensure any final legislation promotes transparency while preserving independent physician-led ASCs and protecting patient access to high-quality, lower-cost surgical care.