LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 81ST LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
May 4, 2009

TO:
Honorable Lois W. Kolkhorst, Chair, House Committee on Public Health
 
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB1392 by Leibowitz (Relating to required procedures regarding the ranking of physicians by health benefit plan issuers.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would provide a number of protections for physicians if a health benefit plan were to rank physicians.  The bill would require a health benefit plan that intends to rank physicians to disclose the standards or criteria to the physician before disseminating the ranking to the public.  The bill would establish due process rights for the physician to dispute the ranking, including a required notice of intent from the health benefit plan and the right to a hearing for a physician.  The hearing may be held by teleconference.  The bill would provide that the Commissioner of Insurance by rule should prescribe standards for any ranking system adopted by a health benefit plan, and that the Commissioner of Insurance should consider national standards when doing so.
 
It is not anticipated that these requirements would have any fiscal impact to the state. 

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.


Source Agencies:
454 Department of Insurance
LBB Staff:
JOB, CL, JI, HC