SB 724 - Under this act, a hospital that is not in material compliance with federal hospital price transparency laws on the date that items or services are purchased from, or provided to a patient by, the hospital shall not initiate or pursue a collection action against the patient for a debt owed for the items or services. The patient may file suit against the hospital for a prohibited collection and the hospital, if found to be materially out of compliance with federal price transparency laws, shall refund any amount of debt the payor has paid; pay a penalty to the patient in an amount equal to the debt or $5,000, whichever is greater, as well as 1% interest per day from the date of occurrence; and dismiss or cause to be dismissed any court action with prejudice and pay the patient's costs, and remove or cause to be removed any report made to a consumer reporting agency relating to the debt. Additionally, any patient who pays a bill received from a hospital charging the patient for items or services in an amount exceeding the price of the items or services according to hospital price transparency laws may bring an action in court against the hospital and recover the difference between the amount paid and the price published according to hospital price transparency laws, or $5,000, whichever is lower, and 1% interest per day from the date of occurrence. This act is substantially similar to HCS/HB 1837 (2024) and similar to SB 336 (2025), SB 1212 (2024), and HB 1161 (2023). SARAH HASKINS