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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL 548 By: Daniels
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to healthcare expenses; prohibiting
certain healthcare entities from reporting certain
debt to credit bureaus ; providing exception to
prohibition; specifying what is included in total
cost of healthcare services; requiring certain
information on billing do cuments; setting maximum
limit on certain charges under certain condition;
establishing violation of act as grounds for
dismissal of and affirmative defense to certain legal
proceedings; defining term; providing for
codification; and pro viding an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 6980 of Title 36, unless there
is created a duplicati on in numbering, reads as follows:
A. No medical service or care entity , nor their agent, shall
report a healthcare expense debt to a credit bureau or pursue
collection activities or any other adverse financial action, except
if the entity or agent can demonstrate that the person liable for
the medical debt was presented with and agreed to a good faith
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estimate of the total cost of all healthcare services to be provided
prior to agreeing to receive the services .
1. The total cost shall include all services performed by the
medical service or care entity and its staff, as well as any
authorized services provided by a contractor, affiliat e or any other
third party who provided services in the facility, and the total
cost to be billed shall include out-of-network providers.
2. The total cost of service shall be presented to the patient
separately from all other forms, informatio n and paperwork. It
shall be written in a readable font, plain language and shall be
prominently and conspicuously displayed on the first page of the
document in which it is contained.
B. In cases in which the patient must receiv e emergency care
and is not able to receive a good faith estimate of healthcare
services before vital emergency medical serv ices are rendered, no
medical service or hea lth care entity shall charge the person liable
for the medical debt more than one hundre d fifty percent (150%) of
the Medicare rates for the emergency services rendered.
C. Failure to comply with the provisions of this act shall be
grounds for dismissal of any collection suit or garnishment
proceeding and may be asserted as an affirmative de fense to any such
action.
D. For purposes of this section, "medical service or care
entity" shall include, but not be l imited to, a medical care
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corporation, health care corporation, hospital service association,
medical service corporation, health care m aintenance organization,
not-for-profit hospital, insurer, insurance company or any other
third-party payer of medical e xpenses.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
58-1-1896 NP 2/25/2021 11:38:52 AM