By: Nichols S.B. No. 303
(In the Senate - Filed January 3, 2011; February 2, 2011,
read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
May 4, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 4, 2011,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 303 By: Duncan
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to health care services provided or paid by a hospital
district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.066, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) A hospital district may recover, from the eligible
resident perpetrating a fraud, an amount equal to the value of any
fraudulently obtained health care services provided to the eligible
resident disqualified under this section.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 61.067 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.067. LIEN BY NON-PROVIDER HOSPITAL DISTRICT.
(a) This section applies to a hospital district that does not
operate a hospital.
(b) After the hospital district pays the providing hospital
for the actual cost of the service, the district may file a lien on a
tort cause of action or claim of an eligible resident who receives
health care services for injuries caused by an accident that is
attributed to the negligence of another person.
(c) A person who applies for or receives health care
services shall inform the hospital district, at the time of
application or at any time during eligibility for services, of:
(1) any unsettled tort claim that may affect medical
needs;
(2) any private accident or health insurance coverage
that is or may become available; and
(3) any injury that is caused by the act or failure to
act of some other person.
(d) An applicant or eligible resident shall inform the
hospital district of information required by Subsection (c) within
30 days of the date the person learns of the person's insurance
coverage, tort claim, or potential cause of action.
(e) A claim for damages for personal injury does not
constitute grounds for denying or discontinuing services under this
chapter.
(f)(1) A lien under this chapter attaches to:
(A) a tort cause of action for damages arising
from an injury for which the injured eligible resident receives
health care services;
(B) a judgment of a court in this state or the
decision of a public agency in a proceeding brought by the eligible
resident or by another person entitled to bring the suit in case of
the death of the eligible resident to recover tort damages arising
from an injury for which the eligible resident receives health care
services; and
(C) the proceeds of a settlement of a tort cause
of action or a tort claim by the eligible resident or another person
entitled to make the claim, arising from an injury for which the
eligible resident receives health care services.
(2) If the eligible resident has health insurance, the
providing hospital is obligated to timely bill the applicable
health insurer in accordance with Chapter 146, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code.
(g) The lien does not attach to a claim under the workers'
compensation law of this state, the Federal Employees Liability
Act, or the Federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.
(h) A hospital district's lien established under Subsection
(b) is for the amount actually paid by the hospital district for
services provided to the eligible resident for health care services
caused by an accident that is attributed to the negligence of
another person.
(i) To secure the lien, a hospital district must file
written notice of the lien with the county clerk of the county in
which the services were provided. The notice must be filed and
indexed before money is paid by the third party liability insurer.
The notice must contain:
(1) the injured individual's name and address;
(2) the date of the accident;
(3) the name and location of the hospital district
claiming the lien; and
(4) the name of the person alleged to be liable for
damages arising from the injury, if known.
(j) The county clerk shall record the name of the injured
individual, the date of the accident, and the name and address of
the hospital district and shall index the record in the name of the
injured individual.
(k) The procedures set forth in Sections 55.006 and 55.007,
Property Code, for discharging and releasing the lien shall apply
to liens filed under this section.
(l) Procedures established by a hospital district for
administrative hearings under this section shall provide for
appropriate due process, including procedures for appeals.
SECTION 3. This Act applies only to the filing of an
application for services or receipt of services as described by
Section 61.067, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, on or
after the effective date of this Act. The filing of an application
for services or receipt of services before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date of filing or
receipt of services, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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