Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB960 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	2015S0323-1 02/24/15
2	2	By: Uresti S.B. No. 960
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the right of a dentist to contract for certain services.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Chapter 251, Occupations Code, is amended by
10	10	adding Section 251.0041 to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 251.0041. IMPROPER INFLUENCE ON PROFESSIONAL
12	12	JUDGMENT. (a) In this section, the term "dentist" includes:
13	13	(1) a dentist licensed by the board;
14	14	(2) a professional corporation wholly owned by one or
15	15	more dentists licensed by the board; and
16	16	(3) a professional entity that provides dental
17	17	services and is owned solely by one or more dentists licensed by the
18	18	board.
19	19	(b) A dentist who enters into any contract or other
20	20	agreement that allows a person other than a dentist one or more of
21	21	the following rights or authorities is presumed to have allowed the
22	22	other person to control, influence, or otherwise interfere with the
23	23	exercise of the dentist's independent professional judgment
24	24	regarding the diagnosis or treatment of a dental disease, disorder,
25	25	or physical condition:
26	26	(1) controlling, owning, or setting any conditions for
27	27	access to or the specific contents of dental records of patients of
28	28	a dentist;
29	29	(2) setting a maximum or other standardized time for
30	30	the performance of specific dental procedures;
31	31	(3) placing any limitation or requirement on
32	32	treatments, referrals, or consultations except those based on the
33	33	professional judgment of the dentist;
34	34	(4) limiting or imposing requirements concerning the
35	35	type or scope of dental treatment, procedures, or services that may
36	36	be recommended, prescribed, directed, or performed, except that a
37	37	dentist may limit the dentist's practice, or the practice of a
38	38	dentist employed by or contracting with the dentist, to certain
39	39	procedures or the treatment of certain dental diseases;
40	40	(5) limiting or imposing requirements concerning the
41	41	supplies, instruments, or equipment deemed reasonably necessary by
42	42	a dentist to provide diagnoses and treatment of the patients of the
43	43	dentist, including a restriction on the use of a dentist's money for
44	44	the purchase of supplies, instruments, or equipment;
45	45	(6) limiting or imposing requirements for the
46	46	professional training deemed necessary by the dentist to properly
47	47	serve the patients of the dentist;
48	48	(7) directing or influencing the selection of specific
49	49	diagnostic examinations and treatments or practices regarding
50	50	patients without due regard to the recommended diagnostic
51	51	examinations and treatment agreed upon by the dentist and the
52	52	patient, except that a dentist having the responsibility for
53	53	training or supervising another dentist may reasonably limit
54	54	treatments or practices as a part of the training or supervision of
55	55	a dentist based upon the training and competency of a dentist to
56	56	perform certain treatments or practices;
57	57	(8) limiting or determining the duties of
58	58	professional, clinical, or other personnel employed to assist a
59	59	dentist in the practice of dentistry;
60	60	(9) establishing professional standards, protocols,
61	61	or practice guidelines which, in the professional judgment of the
62	62	dentist providing dental service to the dentist's patient, conflict
63	63	with generally accepted standards within the dental profession;
64	64	(10) encouraging impermissible referrals from
65	65	unlicensed persons in consideration of a fee;
66	66	(11) placing limitations or conditions upon
67	67	communications that are clinical in nature with the dentist's
68	68	patients;
69	69	(12) precluding or restricting a dentist's ability to
70	70	exercise independent professional judgment over all qualitative
71	71	and quantitative aspects of the delivery of dental care;
72	72	(13) scheduling patients of the dentist in a manner
73	73	that may have the effect of discouraging new patients from coming
74	74	into the dentist's practice or postponing future appointments or
75	75	giving scheduling preference to an individual, class, or group;
76	76	(14) penalizing a dentist for reporting violations of
77	77	a law regulating the practice of dentistry;
78	78	(15) conditioning the payment of fees to a dentist or
79	79	the amount of management fees a dentist must pay on the referral of
80	80	patients to other health care providers specified by a non-dentist;
81	81	or
82	82	(16) interfering with a dentist's decision regarding
83	83	the refund of any payment made by a patient for dental services.
84	84	(c) If a person who is not a dentist enters into any contract
85	85	or other agreement with a dentist that allows the person one or more
86	86	of the following rights or authorities, the person is presumed not
87	87	to have engaged in the practice of dentistry as defined by Section
88	88	251.003 without a license or to have been allowed to control,
89	89	influence, or otherwise interfere with the exercise of the
90	90	dentist's independent professional judgment regarding the
91	91	diagnosis or treatment of any dental disease, disorder, or physical
92	92	condition:
93	93	(1) leases, mortgages, ownership agreements, or other
94	94	arrangements regarding use of space for dental offices based on a
95	95	fee or amount that is reasonably related to the fair market value of
96	96	the office space at the time the lease or other arrangement is
97	97	entered into;
98	98	(2) the purchase, sale, financing, or lease of dental
99	99	equipment, instruments, and supplies as long as the dentist
100	100	maintains the complete care, custody, and control of the dental
101	101	equipment, instruments, and supplies and the lease does not provide
102	102	for a payment or fee based upon a percentage of the revenue received
103	103	by the dentist or the dental practice;
104	104	(3) accounting, bookkeeping, banking, investment, or
105	105	similar financial services, including services related to the
106	106	payment of invoices, obligations, and debts of a dentist;
107	107	(4) the financing, lease, use, or ownership of
108	108	non-dentist business equipment such as telephones, computers,
109	109	software, and general office equipment at reasonable,
110	110	market-related fees;
111	111	(5) services regarding the pledge, collection, or sale
112	112	of accounts receivable from patients;
113	113	(6) billing and collection services;
114	114	(7) advertising and marketing services as long as the
115	115	dentist remains solely responsible for the content of any
116	116	advertising or marketing services and for ensuring that the
117	117	advertising and marketing services conform to all applicable legal
118	118	requirements;
119	119	(8) consulting and advising regarding professional
120	120	development, business practices, and third party payor
121	121	arrangements, and the provision of business and other nonclinical
122	122	services for the day-to-day operation of a dental office which do
123	123	not limit the dentist's ability to use the dentist's independent
124	124	professional judgment regarding the diagnosis or treatment of any
125	125	dental disease, disorder, or physical condition;
126	126	(9) employing or retaining the services of personnel
127	127	working in a dental office, other than the dentist; or
128	128	(10) providing loans, capital, or funding to a
129	129	dentist, including under a secured arrangement.
130	130	(d)(1) The presumption established by Subsection (b) may be
131	131	rebutted by evidence that the contract or agreement did not result
132	132	in a person who is not a dentist controlling, influencing, or
133	133	otherwise interfering with the exercise of the dentist's
134	134	independent professional judgment regarding the diagnosis or
135	135	treatment of any dental disease, disorder, or physical condition.
136	136	(2) The presumption established by Subsection (c) may
137	137	be rebutted by evidence that the contract or agreement actually
138	138	resulted in a person who is not a dentist controlling, influencing,
139	139	or otherwise interfering with the dentist's independent
140	140	professional judgment regarding the diagnosis or treatment of any
141	141	dental disease, disorder, or physical condition. Evidence is not
142	142	admissible to rebut the presumption established by Subsection (c)
143	143	if the evidence relates to:
144	144	(A) the length of the contract or agreement;
145	145	(B) whether an unlicensed person provides all,
146	146	substantially all, or is the exclusive provider of such
147	147	undertakings to a dentist or dental office; or
148	148	(C) subject to the limitations of Subsection
149	149	(b)(5), whether the dentist has authorized an unlicensed person to
150	150	have signature authority over the dentist's accounts.
151	151	(e) This rule does not apply to a person or circumstance
152	152	described by Section 251.004, 260.001, 260.002, 260.003, or
153	153	260.004.
154	154	SECTION 2. Section 254.0011, Occupations Code, is amended
155	155	to read as follows:
156	156	Sec. 254.0011. RULES RELATING TO CONTROL OF DENTAL
157	157	PRACTICE. [(a)] The board may not adopt rules [relating to the
158	158	practice of dentistry as described by Section 251.003(a)(9)] to
159	159	prohibit or otherwise restrict [a dentist from engaging in
160	160	contracts that allow a person who is not a dentist to influence or
161	161	interfere with the exercise of the dentist's independent
162	162	professional judgment.
163	163	[(b) Rules adopted by the board under this subtitle may not
164	164	preclude] a dentist's right to contract with:
165	165	(1) a management service organization; or
166	166	(2) a person for the provision of management services.
167	167	[Rules affecting contracts for provision of management services
168	168	apply the same to dentists contracting with management service
169	169	organizations and to dentists otherwise contracting for management
170	170	services.]
171	171	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.