HBA-JEK H.B. 2620 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2620 By: Goodman Insurance 4/8/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Managed care organizations require physicians and patients to complete large amounts of paperwork. Increasing administrative costs are a possible factor in rising health care costs, and administrative duties detract from the time physicians are able to spend with their patients. Most managed care organizations ask for the same information, but each managed care organization places the information in a different format and requires physicians to use its plan's specific form. The absence of standardized forms can delay care and inconvenience patients and physicians. House Bill 2620 provides for the use of standard contracts, forms, and other documents for routine managed care functions. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the commissioner of insurance in SECTION 1 (Article 21.52K, Insurance Code) and SECTION 2 of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 2620 amends the Insurance Code to require the commissioner of insurance to adopt rules by January 1, 2002, to establish and require managed care entities to use standard contracts, forms, and other documents for routine managed care functions. The rules must include standard documents for contracts, member identification cards, referral forms, and pre-authorization forms. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.