By Duncan H.B. No. 2507
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the assignment of health care benefit payments and
1-3 waiver of deductibles and coinsurance.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Article 21.24-1 of the Insurance Code is amended
1-6 by amending Section 1, Subsection (6), and Section 4, Subsection
1-7 (c) to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 1. (6) "Insurer" means an insurance company,
1-9 association, or organization authorized to do business in this
1-10 state under Chapter 3, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20 or 22
1-11 of this code.
1-12 Sec. 4. (c) The payment of benefits under an
1-13 assignment does not relieve the covered person of any contractual
1-14 responsibility for the payment of deductibles and copayments. <A
1-15 physician or other health care provider may not waive copayments or
1-16 deductibles by acceptance of an assignment.>
1-17 SECTION 2. Section 161.091 of the Health and Safety Code is
1-18 amended by adding subsection (h) to read as follows:
1-19 (h) This section shall not be construed to prohibit a
1-20 person or entity licensed, certified, or registered by a health
1-21 care regulatory agency of this state from waiving health care
1-22 benefit copayments or deductibles when the person or entity:
1-23 (1) chooses to waive the copayment or deductible
2-1 in order to ease undue financial hardship upon a patient and to
2-2 facilitate his or her ability to receive necessary health care;
2-3 (2) wishes to extend a professional courtesy to an
2-4 employee or agent or their dependents, or, in the case of a
2-5 hospital, to a hospital medical staff member, hospital volunteer or
2-6 their dependents; or
2-7 (3) must accept limited fee payments based upon a
2-8 contract with a third party payor as payment in full for health
2-9 care services provided under the terms of the contract.
2-10 SECTION 3. This act takes effect September 1, 1993.
2-11 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
2-12 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-13 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-14 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-15 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.