A bill to ban anticompetitive terms in facility and insurance contracts that limit access to higher quality, lower cost care.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4027 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4027 To ban anticompetitive terms in facility and insurance contracts that limit access to higher quality, lower cost care. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 9, 2026 Mr. Husted introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To ban anticompetitive terms in facility and insurance contracts that limit access to higher quality, lower cost care. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Healthy Competition for Better Care Act''. SEC. 2. BANNING ANTICOMPETITIVE TERMS IN FACILITY AND INSURANCE CONTRACTS THAT LIMIT ACCESS TO HIGHER QUALITY, LOWER COST CARE. (a) In General.-- (1) PHSA.-- (A) In general.--Section 2799A-9 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-119) is amended-- (i) in the heading, by striking ``by removing'' and all that follows through ``information'' and inserting ``; prohibition on anticompetitive agreements''; (ii) in subsection (a)(5), in the first sentence, by striking ``section'' and inserting ``subsection''; and (iii) by adding at the end the following: ``(b) Protecting Health Plans Network Design Flexibility.-- ``(1) In general.--A group health plan or a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage may not enter into an agreement with a covered entity if such agreement, directly or indirectly-- ``(A) restricts (including by operation of any agreement in effect between such covered entity and another covered entity) the group health plan or health insurance issuer from-- ``(i) directing or steering partic