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Congress·In Committee·S. 4027

Sen. Husted Introduces Healthy Competition for Better Care Act to Lower Healthcare Costs

Healthy Competition for Better Care Act

15 days ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Legislative Progress

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Key Points

  • The bill bans contract clauses that prevent health plans from steering patients toward higher-quality or lower-cost providers. Insurance companies could no longer be locked into agreements that block them from directing members to better-value care options.
  • Hospitals and health systems can no longer force insurers into "all-or-nothing" deals that require them to contract with affiliated facilities or agree to payment rates for affiliates not part of the original agreement.

    From policy text

    “requires the group health plan or health insurance issuer to enter into any additional agreement with an affiliate of the covered entity”
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  • The bill prohibits "most favored nation" clauses that prevent other health plans from negotiating lower rates for the same services, removing a major barrier to price competition.

    From policy text

    “restricts other group health plans or health insurance issuers not party to the agreement from paying a lower rate for items or services than the plan or issuer involved in the agreement pays for such items or services”
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  • Value-based care models like HMOs, accountable care organizations, and centers of excellence are explicitly exempted from the anti-steering ban, preserving established integrated care arrangements.

    From policy text

    “a value-based network arrangement, such as an exclusive provider network, accountable care organization, center of excellence, a provider sponsored health insurance issuer that operates primarily through aligned multi-specialty physician group practices or integrated health systems”
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  • States can grandfather certain pre-existing contracts executed around June 2019 through December 2020 for up to 10 years, if the state determines those deals are unlikely to significantly reduce competition.
  • The new rules would apply to contracts entered into, amended, or renewed 18 months after the bill becomes law, and federal agencies must issue implementing regulations within one year of enactment.

    From policy text

    “The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to any contract entered into, amended, or renewed on or after the date that is 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.”
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Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
Mar 9, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Mar 9, 2026

Introduced in Senate

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

Within 1 year of enactment

Federal agencies must issue regulations implementing the new bans on anticompetitive contract terms

HHS, Labor, and Treasury will write the detailed rules that define how the bans work in practice, including any guidance on exemptions for value-based care models.

18 months after enactment

New contract restrictions take effect for any health plan agreement entered into, amended, or renewed

Starting 18 months after the law is signed, insurance companies and hospital systems can no longer include anti-steering, all-or-nothing, or most-favored-nation clauses in new or updated contracts. This is when consumers could begin seeing changes in how their plans work.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Healthy Competition for Better Care Act

Bill NumberS 4027
Congress119th Congress
ChamberSenate
Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.