Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
The Neonatal Care Transparency Act of 2026 requires hospitals and obstetricians to publicly disclose their policies on providing life-saving care to extremely premature infants, including whether there is a minimum gestational age cutoff for such care and how cases are handled on an individual basis. Hospitals must also disclose their transfer procedures for patients whose facilities lack the capacity to provide neonatal intensive care. Obstetricians are required to inform patients at their first prenatal visit about these policies at any hospital where they have admitting privileges. The bill ties compliance to federal funding by withholding Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) payments from hospitals and obstetric providers that fail to meet the disclosure requirements, with these provisions taking effect 180 days after the bill is enacted. The legislation aims to give expectant parents advance knowledge of neonatal care capabilities so they can make informed decisions about where to deliver and what level of care to expect for a premature birth.
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