S.1140 - Health Accelerating Consumer’s Care by Expediting Self-Scheduling Act; Health ACCESS Act (119th Congress)
Summary
S.1140, the Health ACCESS Act, aims to amend Title XI of the Social Security Act to lower barriers and increase patient access to healthcare. The bill focuses on regulating information service providers that connect patients with healthcare providers. It seeks to prevent steering patients based on financial incentives and ensure transparency in provider selection.
Expected Effects
The bill is likely to increase the use of web-based platforms for healthcare information. It will also change the way information service providers operate by imposing restrictions on how they can be compensated and how they present information to consumers.
Potential Benefits
- Increased transparency in healthcare provider selection.
- Reduced potential for biased recommendations from information service providers.
- Greater patient autonomy in choosing healthcare services.
- Promotion of fair competition among healthcare providers.
- Enhanced convenience for consumers seeking healthcare information.
Most Benefited Areas:
Potential Disadvantages
- Potential for increased regulatory burden on information service providers.
- Possible limitations on innovative business models for healthcare navigation.
- Risk of reduced service availability if compliance costs are too high.
- Difficulty in enforcing the 'objective criteria' requirement for provider participation.
- Possible unintended consequences affecting smaller or specialized healthcare providers.
Constitutional Alignment
The bill appears to align with the general welfare clause of the Constitution (Preamble), as it aims to improve healthcare access. However, the specific regulations on information service providers could raise concerns related to freedom of speech (Amendment I) if they are overly restrictive or discriminatory. The Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8) provides Congress with the power to regulate interstate commerce, which could be used to justify regulating web-based platforms that operate across state lines.
Impact Assessment: Things You Care About ⓘ
This action has been evaluated across 19 key areas that matter to you. Scores range from 1 (highly disadvantageous) to 5 (highly beneficial).