Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB724 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	FIRST REGULAR SESSION
3	3	SENATE BILL NO. 724
4	4	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
5	5	INTRODUCED BY SENATOR COLEMAN.
6	6	2919S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	To amend chapter 197, RSMo, by adding thereto three new sections relating to hospital pricing
9	9	practices.
10	10
11	11	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
12	12	Section A. Chapter 197, RSMo, is amended by adding there to 1
13	13	three new sections, to be known as sections 197.1040, 197.1045, 2
14	14	and 197.1050, to read as follows:3
15	15	197.1040. For purposes of sections 197.1040 to 1
16	16	197.1050, unless the context otherwise requires, the 2
17	17	following terms mean: 3
18	18	(1) "Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services", the 4
19	19	Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the United 5
20	20	States Department of Health and Human Services; 6
21	21	(2) "Collection action", any of the following actions 7
22	22	taken with respect to a debt for items and services that 8
23	23	were provided to a patient by or purchased from a hospital 9
24	24	on a date during which the hospital was not in material 10
25	25	compliance with hospital price transparency laws: 11
26	26	(a) Attempting to collect a debt from a patient or 12
27	27	patient guarantor by refe rring the debt, directly or 13
28	28	indirectly, to a debt collector, a collection agency, or 14
29	29	other third party retained by or on behalf of the hospital; 15
30	30	(b) Suing the patient or patient guarantor or 16
31	31	enforcing an arbitration or mediation clause in any hosp ital 17 SB 724 2
32	32	documents, including contracts, agreements, statements, or 18
33	33	bills; or 19
34	34	(c) Directly or indirectly causing a report to be made 20
35	35	to a consumer reporting agency; 21
36	36	(3) "Collection agency": 22
37	37	(a) Any: 23
38	38	a. Person who engages in a busines s, the principal 24
39	39	purpose of which is the collection of debts; or 25
40	40	b. Person who: 26
41	41	(i) Regularly collects or attempts to collect, 27
42	42	directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be 28
43	43	owed or due to another; 29
44	44	(ii) Takes assignment of debts for collection purposes; 30
45	45	(iii) Directly or indirectly solicits for collection 31
46	46	debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due to another; 32
47	47	or 33
48	48	(iv) Collects debts for the office of administration; 34
49	49	(b) Does not include: 35
50	50	a. Any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the 36
51	51	name of the creditor, collecting debts for such creditor; 37
52	52	b. Any person while acting as a collection agency for 38
53	53	another person, both of whom are related by common ownership 39
54	54	or affiliated by corporat e control, if the person acting as 40
55	55	a collection agency does so only for creditors to whom it is 41
56	56	so related or affiliated and if the principal business of 42
57	57	the person is not the collection of debts; 43
58	58	c. Any officer or employee of the United States or any 44
59	59	state to the extent that collecting or attempting to collect 45
60	60	any debt is in the performance of the officer's or 46
61	61	employee's official duties; 47 SB 724 3
62	62	d. Any person while serving or attempting to serve 48
63	63	legal process on any other person in connection wi th the 49
64	64	judicial enforcement of any debt; 50
65	65	e. Any person collecting or attempting to collect any 51
66	66	debt owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another to 52
67	67	the extent that: 53
68	68	(i) The activity is incidental to a bona fide 54
69	69	fiduciary obligation or a bona fide escrow arrangement; 55
70	70	(ii) The activity concerns a debt that was extended by 56
71	71	the person; 57
72	72	(iii) The activity concerns a debt that was not in 58
73	73	default at the time it was obtained by the person; or 59
74	74	(iv) The activity concerns a deb t obtained by the 60
75	75	person as a secured party in a commercial credit transaction 61
76	76	involving the creditor; or 62
77	77	f. Any person whose principal business is the making 63
78	78	of loans or the servicing of debt not in default and who 64
79	79	acts as a loan correspondent, seller, and servicer for the 65
80	80	owner, or holder of a debt that is secured by a deed of 66
81	81	trust on real property, regardless of whether the debt is 67
82	82	also secured by an interest in personal property; 68
83	83	(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b) of 69
84	84	this subdivision to the contrary, the term "collection 70
85	85	agency" includes any person who, in the process of 71
86	86	collecting the person's own debts, uses another name that 72
87	87	would indicate that a third person is collecting or 73
88	88	attempting to collect such debts; 74
89	89	(4) "Consumer reporting agency", any person who, for 75
90	90	monetary fees or dues or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, 76
91	91	regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice of 77
92	92	assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or 78
93	93	other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing 79 SB 724 4
94	94	consumer reports to third parties. The term "consumer 80
95	95	reporting agency" includes any person defined in 15 U.S.C. 81
96	96	Section 1681a(f) and any consumer credit reporting agency 82
97	97	defined in section 407.1380. The term "consumer reporting 83
98	98	agency" does not include any business entity that provides 84
99	99	only check verification or check guarantee services; 85
100	100	(5) "Debt", any obligation or alleged obligation of a 86
101	101	consumer to pay moneys arising out of a transaction, 87
102	102	regardless of whether the obligation has been reduced to 88
103	103	judgment. The term "debt" does not include a debt for 89
104	104	business, investment, commercial, or agricultural purposes 90
105	105	or a debt incurred by a business; 91
106	106	(6) "Debt collector", any person employed or eng aged 92
107	107	by a collection agency to perform the collection of debts 93
108	108	owed or due or asserted to be owed or due to another; 94
109	109	(7) "Hospital", a hospital: 95
110	110	(a) Licensed under this chapter; or 96
111	111	(b) Approved by the department of health and senior 97
112	112	services as meeting the standards established for licensing 98
113	113	a hospital in this state; 99
114	114	(8) "Hospital price transparency laws", Section 100
115	115	2718(e) of the Public Health Service Act, as amended, and 101
116	116	rules adopted by the United States Department of Health a nd 102
117	117	Human Services implementing Section 2718(e); 103
118	118	(9) "Items and services" or "items or services", items 104
119	119	and services as defined in 45 CFR 180.20. 105
120	120	197.1045. 1. On and after August 28, 2025, a hospital 1
121	121	that is not in material com pliance with hospital price 2
122	122	transparency laws on the date that items or services are 3
123	123	provided to a patient by or purchased from the hospital 4
124	124	shall not initiate or pursue a collection action against the 5 SB 724 5
125	125	patient or patient guarantor for a debt owed for t he items 6
126	126	or services. 7
127	127	2. If a patient believes that a hospital was not in 8
128	128	material compliance with hospital price transparency laws on 9
129	129	a date on or after August 28, 2025, that items or services 10
130	130	were purchased by or provided to the patient, and th e 11
131	131	hospital takes a collection action against the patient or 12
132	132	patient guarantor, the patient or patient guarantor may file 13
133	133	suit to determine if the hospital was materially out of 14
134	134	compliance with the hospital price transparency laws and 15
135	135	rules and regulations on the date of service and if the 16
136	136	noncompliance is related to the items or services. The 17
137	137	hospital shall not take a collection action against the 18
138	138	patient or patient guarantor while the lawsuit is pending. 19
139	139	3. A hospital that has been found by a judge or jury, 20
140	140	considering compliance standards issued by the Centers for 21
141	141	Medicare and Medicaid Services, to be materially out of 22
142	142	compliance with hospital price transparency laws and rules 23
143	143	and regulations: 24
144	144	(1) Shall refund the payer any amount of the debt the 25
145	145	payer has paid and shall pay a penalty to the patient or 26
146	146	patient guarantor in an amount equal to the total amount of 27
147	147	the debt or five thousand dollars for each violation, 28
148	148	whichever is greater, and an amount equal to one percent 29
149	149	interest per day from the date of occurrence; 30
150	150	(2) Shall dismiss or cause to be dismissed any court 31
151	151	action with prejudice and pay any costs incurred by the 32
152	152	patient or patient guarantor relating to the action; and 33
153	153	(3) Shall remove or cause to be remov ed from the 34
154	154	patient's or patient guarantor's credit report any report 35
155	155	made to a consumer reporting agency relating to the debt. 36
156	156	4. Nothing in this section: 37 SB 724 6
157	157	(1) Prohibits a hospital from billing a patient, 38
158	158	patient guarantor, or third -party payer, including a health 39
159	159	insurer, for items or services provided to the patient; or 40
160	160	(2) Requires a hospital to refund any payment made to 41
161	161	the hospital for items or services provided to the patient, 42
162	162	so long as no collection action is taken in violat ion of 43
163	163	this section. 44
164	164	197.1050. Any patient who pays a bill received from a 1
165	165	hospital charging the patient for items or services in an 2
166	166	amount that exceeds the price of the items or services 3
167	167	published by the hospital in accordance with hospital price 4
168	168	transparency laws may bring a civil action in circuit court 5
169	169	against the hospital and recover the difference between the 6
170	170	amount paid by the patient and the price of the items or 7
171	171	services published by the hospital in accordance with 8
172	172	hospital price transparency laws or five thousand dollars, 9
173	173	whichever is lower, and an amount equal to one percent 10
174	174	interest per day from the date of occurrence. 11
175	175	