| This bill requires health care practitioners and facilities |
| to disclose the prices charged for the health care services |
| that they provide and prohibits them from billing for those |
| services if they have not disclosed those services and their |
| prices in writing to the patient prior to providing the |
| services. The bill also requires annual reporting of health |
| care services and prices and any discounts made from those |
| prices to the Maine Health Data Organization. The bill |
| contains an effective date of January 1, 2004. |