1-1 By: McDonald (Senate Sponsor - Ellis) H.B. No. 1972
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 1993;
1-3 May 4, 1993, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
1-4 and Human Services; May 11, 1993, reported favorably by the
1-5 following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 11, 1993, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE VOTE
1-7 Yea Nay PNV Absent
1-8 Zaffirini x
1-9 Ellis x
1-10 Madla x
1-11 Moncrief x
1-12 Nelson x
1-13 Patterson x
1-14 Shelley x
1-15 Truan x
1-16 Wentworth x
1-17 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-18 AN ACT
1-19 relating to permissible activities of certain nonprofit medical
1-20 clinics operated by a nonprofit hospital or organization.
1-21 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-22 SECTION 1. Section 3.06, Medical Practice Act (Article
1-23 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding
1-24 Subsections (g) and (h) to read as follows:
1-25 (g) This Act does not prohibit a nonprofit clinic that is
1-26 operated by a nonprofit hospital or organization and that primarily
1-27 serves a financially indigent population from:
1-28 (1) contracting with a physician to provide services
1-29 at the clinic;
1-30 (2) paying a physician a minimum guarantee to assure
1-31 the physician's availability;
1-32 (3) billing to and collecting from patients as the
1-33 physician's agent the physician's professional fees; or
1-34 (4) retaining any professional fees collected under
1-35 Subdivision (3) of this subsection up to the amount of the minimum
1-36 guaranteed fee and a reasonable collection fee.
1-37 (h) In Subsection (g), "financially indigent population"
1-38 means persons meeting Medicaid eligibility requirements or
1-39 uninsured persons who are accepted for care with no obligation to
1-40 pay or with a discounted obligation to pay for services rendered
1-41 based on the clinic's eligibility system.
1-42 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
1-43 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-44 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-45 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-46 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-47 * * * * *
1-48 Austin,
1-49 Texas
1-50 May 11, 1993
1-51 Hon. Bob Bullock
1-52 President of the Senate
1-53 Sir:
1-54 We, your Committee on Health and Human Services to which was
1-55 referred H.B. No. 1972, have had the same under consideration, and
1-56 I am instructed to report it back to the Senate with the
1-57 recommendation that it do pass and be printed.
1-58 Zaffirini,
1-59 Chair
1-60 * * * * *
1-61 WITNESSES
1-62 FOR AGAINST ON
1-63 ___________________________________________________________________
1-64 Name: David Marwitz x
1-65 Representing: Tx Hospital Association
1-66 City: Austin
1-67 -------------------------------------------------------------------
1-68 Name: William L. Broussard x
2-1 Representing: Tx Conference Catholic Health
2-2 City: Austin
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