Bill targets healthcare provider lock-in contracts to lower costs and expand patient choice.

What it does

This bill bans health insurance plans and group health plans from signing contracts with healthcare providers that prevent the plans from steering patients to cheaper or higher-quality providers, requiring affiliate agreements, or locking in rates for providers not party to the original deal. It carves out exceptions for HMOs with exclusive physician groups and value-based networks (like ACOs and centers of excellence), and allows states to grandfather in contracts signed before 2021 if they determine the contract does not substantially reduce competition.

Why we flagged it

The bill is fundamentally an antitrust measure targeting anticompetitive contracting practices in health insurance and healthcare delivery. It does not create new subsidies, tax breaks, or commemorative provisions — it removes contractual restrictions that limit competition and patient choice.

What the text implies

• The 10-year state grandfathering option (for contracts signed before 2021) may allow some anticompetitive arrangements to persist in states that do not actively review them, creating a patchwork of enforcement across states.
• The bill's effectiveness depends entirely on HHS, Labor, and Treasury regulations (due within 1 year). Weak or narrow rulemaking could substantially limit the bill's reach.
• The carve-out for 'value-based network arrangements' is defined partly by Secretary guidance, creating regulatory discretion that could expand or contract the exception over time.
• Health plans may respond by shifting to narrower networks or higher cost-sharing to offset lost negotiating leverage, potentially shifting costs to patients in ways the bill does not directly address.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill empowers health plans to negotiate more competitively and steer enrollees toward lower-cost, higher-quality providers, which should reduce out-of-pocket costs and expand choice for patients. The carve-outs for HMOs and value-based networks preserve legitimate integrated-care models, so the bill targets only anticompetitive lock-in, not all exclusive arrangements.

Who stands to gain

• health insurance plans (reduced contractual lock-in, greater negotiating flexibility)
• patients/enrollees (lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs through competitive pricing)
• lower-cost healthcare providers and centers of excellence (increased patient flow via steering)

Named in the bill

Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Labor, Department of Treasury, health insurance issuers, group health plans, healthcare providers, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), accountable care organizations (ACOs), exclusive provider networks, centers of excellence, state authorities, Public Health Service Act (PHSA) — and 2 more

Where it stands

• Mar 9, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Mar 9, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

17 lobbying clients named this bill on 17 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $3,174,347 in lobbying spend. A filing names 12 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 96% of bills with at least one filing.

Jon Husted, the sponsor, reported $2,682,096 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association — $990,000 on 1 filing
• Blood Cancer United (fka the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) — $590,000 on 1 filing
• Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc — $530,000 on 1 filing
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan — $276,347 on 1 filing
• American Benefits Council Obo Alliance to Fight for Health Care — $160,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.