153.21 Consumer guide; list for hospital charge disclosures.

(1) The department shall prepare and submit to the governor and to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2) an annual guide to assist consumers in selecting health care providers and health care plans. The guide shall be written in language that is understandable to laypersons. The department shall widely publicize and distribute the guide to consumers.

(2) The entity under contract under s. 153.05 (2m) (a) shall prepare and submit to the governor and to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2) an annual guide to assist consumers in selecting hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. The guide shall be written in language that is understandable to laypersons and shall include data derived from the annual survey of hospitals conducted by the American Hospital Association and the annual hospital fiscal survey. The entity shall widely publicize and distribute the guide to consumers.

(3) The entity under contract under s. 153.05 (2m) (a) shall, using data collected under s. 153.05 (1) (b), annually identify the 75 diagnosis related groups for which hospitals in this state most frequently provide inpatient care and the 75 outpatient surgical procedures most frequently performed by hospitals in this state, and shall distribute a list of the identified diagnosis related groups and surgical procedures to all hospitals in the state and to the department.

History: 1997 a. 231; 2003 a. 33; 2009 a. 146.