Proposed Rule2026-03798

Private Health Insurance; Transparency in Coverage; Extension of Comment Period

Primary source

Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.

Published
February 25, 2026
Effective
December 23, 2025

Issuing agencies

Treasury DepartmentInternal Revenue ServiceLabor DepartmentEmployee Benefits Security AdministrationHealth and Human Services Department

Abstract

This document extends the comment period for the proposed rule that appeared in the Federal Register on December 23, 2025, titled "Transparency in Coverage". The comment period for the proposed rule, which would end on February 23, 2026, is extended until March 2, 2026.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9212-9213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03798]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

26 CFR Part 54

[REG-107111-25]
RIN 1545-BQ55

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration

29 CFR Part 2590

RIN 1210-AC30

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

45 CFR Part 147

[CMS-9882-P]
RIN 0938-AV64


Private Health Insurance; Transparency in Coverage; Extension of 
Comment Period

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury; Employee 
Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor; Centers for 
Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Proposed rule; Extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: This document extends the comment period for the proposed rule 
that appeared in the Federal Register on December 23, 2025, titled 
``Transparency in Coverage''. The comment period for the proposed rule, 
which would end on February 23, 2026, is extended until March 2, 2026.

DATES: The comment period for the December 23, 2025 proposed rule (90 
FR 60432) is extended to March 2, 2026.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as outlined in the December 23, 2025 
proposed rule (90 FR 60432). Please choose only one of the methods 
listed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kendra May, Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services, (301) 448-3996. Elizabeth Schumacher or Sharon 
Aguirre, Employee Benefits Security Administration, (202) 693-8335. 
Alexander Krupnick, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the 
Treasury, (202) 317-5500.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Inspection of Public Comments: All comments received before the 
close of the comment period are available for viewing by the public, 
including any personally identifiable or confidential business 
information that is included in a comment. We post all comments 
received before the close of the comment period on the following 
website as soon as possible after they have been received: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the search instructions on that website to 
view public comments. The Departments will not post on <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> 
public comments that make threats to individuals or institutions or 
suggest that the commenter will take actions to harm an individual. The 
Departments continue to encourage individuals not to submit duplicative 
comments. We will post acceptable comments from multiple unique 
commenters even if the content is identical or nearly identical to 
other comments.
    In the December 23, 2025 Federal Register (90 FR 60432), we 
published a proposed rule titled ``Transparency in Coverage'' 
(hereinafter referred to as the TiC proposed rule). The rule proposed 
requirements that would amend the regulations under the Public Health 
Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and 
the Internal Revenue Code regarding price transparency disclosure 
requirements for non-grandfathered group health plans and health 
insurance issuers offering non-grandfathered group and individual 
health insurance coverage. Specifically, the rule proposed improvements 
in the standardization, accuracy, and accessibility of public pricing 
disclosures in line with the goals of the Executive Order 14221. With 
respect to the in-network rate and out-of-network allowed amount 
machine-readable files, the rule proposed achieving these goals by 
adding new contextual files and additional data elements like product 
type, network name, and enrollment counts; changing the reporting level 
for aggregation of data; removing in-network rates for unlikely 
provider-to-service mappings; increasing the reporting period and 
lowering the claims threshold for out-of-network historical data; and 
reducing the reporting cadence. The rule also proposed improvement in 
the findability of all of the publicly disclosed machine-readable files 
required under the Transparency in Coverage rules, including the 
prescription drug file, by requiring a text file and footer with 
website URLs and contact information for the files. The rule also 
included proposals that would require pricing information that is made 
available through an online consumer tool and paper (upon request),

[[Page 9213]]

to also be made available by phone, and establish that the satisfaction 
of such requirement also satisfies the requirements of section 114 of 
the No Surprises Act (including for grandfathered group health plans 
and health insurance issuers offering grandfathered group and 
individual health insurance coverage that are not otherwise subject to 
the proposed rule).
    In the TiC proposed rule, we solicited public comments on proposed 
changes and requested comments by February 23, 2026. Since publication 
of the proposed rules, the Departments have received questions related 
to the comment deadline and how to submit the comments to the 
Departments. To address the confusion from inconsistent communication 
about the comment deadline and to provide an opportunity for meaningful 
input by commenters the Departments are extending the comment period by 
an additional 7 days.

Kenneth J. Kies,
Acting Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service.

Daniel Aronowitz,
Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2026-03798 Filed 2-23-26; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4831-GV-P; 4510-28-P; 4120-01-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on February 25, 2026.

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.