Neonatal Care Transparency Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Mackenzie, Ryan [R-PA-7]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would create a national transparency standard requiring hospitals and obstetric clinicians to disclose their policies on providing life‑saving care to premature infants and how transfers to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are handled. It would require compliance beginning January 1, 2026, with the Social Security Act amendments taking effect 180 days after enactment.
Show full summary
- Families and pregnant people would receive hospital-level information at the first prenatal visit about any minimum gestational age for life-saving care, whether decisions are made case-by-case, and the process to transfer to the nearest NICU.
- Hospitals and obstetric clinicians would have to publicly post their neonatal care policies and disclose those policies to patients for any hospital where the clinician has admitting privileges.
- Hospitals and providers that furnish obstetric services to Medicaid and CHIP patients would risk losing federal payments for those services if they do not meet the required disclosures.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Hospital NICU policy disclosures
This bill would require hospitals to publicly post their policy on providing life‑saving care for infants born prematurely. The posted policy would say if the hospital uses a minimum gestational age, whether decisions are made case‑by‑case, and how the hospital would transfer the mother and infant to the nearest neonatal intensive care unit if it lacks capacity. Obstetric clinicians would have to tell pregnant patients this information at the first prenatal visit for any hospital where the clinician has admitting privileges. Medicare hospital rules would be changed so hospitals must follow these disclosure requirements beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
Medicaid and CHIP payment withholding
This bill would let the federal government withhold Medicaid and CHIP payments to a hospital or obstetric provider that does not comply with the required NICU policy disclosures. The withholding would apply to amounts spent under a State Medicaid plan and the CHIP rules would be changed to match. These amendments would take effect 180 days after enactment of the bill.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Mackenzie, Ryan [R-PA-7]
PA • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov