The House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday voted 28-22 along party lines to approve a package of amendments to the House health reform bill (H.R. 3200). These include an amendment by Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX), Gene Green (D-TX), Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Henry Waxman (D-CA) that would require states to publicly report information on hospital charges, and require insurers to provide individuals with estimated out-of-pocket costs for health services. Approved 51-0, the amendment is based largely on an AHA-supported bill (H.R. 2249) by Burgess and Green that builds on state-level hospital price reporting efforts and requires insurers to participate. Chairman Waxman will instruct the Rules Committee to add the amendments to H.R. 3200 as the bill is prepared for consideration on the House floor.