HBA-CCH S.B. 583 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 583 By: Duncan Business & Industry 4/1/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a hospital can hold a lien for services provided during a patient's first 100 days of treatment. Yet, services provided by emergency room physicians are often not compensated, and the collection rate for trauma treatment is low. Senate Bill 583 provides for a lien to include compensation for the emergency room physician. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS Senate Bill 583 amends the Property Code to provide that the lien for the amount of the hospital's charges for services provided to the injured individual during the first 100 days of the injured individual's hospitalization may also include the amount of a physician's reasonable and necessary charges for emergency hospital care services provided to the injured individual during the first seven days of the injured individual's hospitalization. The bill also authorizes the hospital to act on the physician's behalf in securing and discharging the lien, at the request of the physician. However, the bill provides that the lien does not cover charges by the physician related to any services for which the physician has accepted insurance benefits or payment under a private medical indemnity plan or program, regardless of whether the benefits or payment equals the full amount of the physician's charges for those services, or charges by the physician for services if the injured individual has coverage under a private medical indemnity plan or program from which the physician is entitled to recover payment for the physician's services under an assignment of benefits or similar rights. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.