82R4119 AJA-D
By: Carona S.B. No. 328
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to notice of a hospital lien.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 55.005, Property Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (d), (e),
(f), (g), and (h) to read as follows:
(a) To secure the lien, a hospital or emergency medical
services provider must:
(1) provide notice to the injured individual in
accordance with Subsection (d), (e), or (f); and
(2) file written notice of the lien with the county
clerk of the county in which the services were provided[. The
notice must be filed] before money is paid to an entitled person
because of the injury.
(b) The notice filed under Subsection (a)(2) must contain:
(1) the injured individual's name and last known
address;
(2) the date of the accident;
(3) the name and location of the hospital or emergency
medical services provider claiming the lien; [and]
(4) the name of the person alleged to be liable for
damages arising from the injury, if known; and
(5) an affirmation by an agent of the hospital or
emergency medical services provider that the notice to the injured
individual was given in accordance with Subsection (d).
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e) or (f), on or
before the date a hospital or emergency medical services provider
files a notice with the county clerk under Subsection (a)(2), the
hospital or emergency medical services provider must send a written
notice to the injured individual by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to the individual's last known address that states that:
(1) a hospital lien may attach to any cause of action
or claim the individual may have against another person for the
individual's injuries for any unpaid charges for hospital services
or emergency medical services provided in connection with the
injuries and specifies to whom the charges may be owed;
(2) the hospital or emergency medical services
provider may file a notice of a hospital lien with the county clerk
of the county in which the services were provided, in accordance
with Chapter 55, Property Code; and
(3) a hospital lien attaches to the proceeds of a cause
of action or settlement the injured individual receives but does
not attach to real property owned by the individual.
(e) A hospital is not required to provide notice by mail if
the hospital provides the notice required by Subsection (d) to the
injured individual at the time of the individual's admission to the
hospital and if:
(1) the notice is provided in a written document
separate from any other documents signed by or provided to the
individual at the time of the individual's admission to the
hospital; and
(2) the notice is signed by the injured individual or
the injured individual's representative.
(f) An emergency medical services provider is not required
to provide notice by mail if the emergency medical services
provider provides the notice required by Subsection (d) to the
injured individual or the injured individual's representative at
the time emergency medical services are provided and if:
(1) the required notice is included on the emergency
medical services authorization form in a paper or electronic
version in a separate paragraph that is bolded and in at least
14-point type; and
(2) except as provided by Subsection (g), the notice
is signed by the injured individual or the injured individual's
representative.
(g) For the purposes of Subsection (f), if consent for
emergency care of an individual is not required under Section
773.008, Health and Safety Code, notice provided on an emergency
medical services authorization form to the injured individual is
not required to be signed.
(h) The failure of an individual to receive a notice mailed
in accordance with Subsection (d) does not affect the validity of a
lien under this chapter.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a lien for services provided to an injured individual on or after
the effective date of this Act. A lien for services provided before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.