| 1 | 1 | | 85R5736 AJA-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Schofield H.B. No. 2300 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the recovery in a civil action of medical or health care |
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| 8 | 8 | | expenses as economic damages. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 41.0105, Civil Practice and Remedies |
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| 11 | 11 | | Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 41.0105. RECOVERY OF MEDICAL OR HEALTH CARE EXPENSES |
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| 13 | 13 | | AS [EVIDENCE RELATING TO AMOUNT OF] ECONOMIC DAMAGES. (a) In |
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| 14 | 14 | | addition to any other limitation under law, recovery of medical or |
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| 15 | 15 | | health care expenses incurred is limited to the amount actually |
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| 16 | 16 | | paid or incurred by or on behalf of the claimant. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (b) The amount actually paid or incurred by or on behalf of |
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| 18 | 18 | | the claimant for medical or health care expenses incurred for |
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| 19 | 19 | | treatment by a physician is limited to the amount the treating |
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| 20 | 20 | | physician normally would be paid for similar services in a |
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| 21 | 21 | | nonlitigation context, determined as follows to the extent |
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| 22 | 22 | | applicable: |
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| 23 | 23 | | (1) if the claimant was covered by health insurance or |
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| 24 | 24 | | any other form of health benefits, including workers' compensation, |
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| 25 | 25 | | Medicare, or Medicaid, that would pay or reimburse the expenses and |
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| 26 | 26 | | the claimant accessed those benefits in obtaining the services, the |
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| 27 | 27 | | amount actually paid or incurred by or on behalf of the claimant is |
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| 28 | 28 | | limited to the amount that the payor of the benefits paid or would |
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| 29 | 29 | | pay for the services plus any cost-sharing amount for which the |
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| 30 | 30 | | claimant is responsible, up to the allowed amount on which the |
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| 31 | 31 | | payor's payment is or would be based; or |
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| 32 | 32 | | (2) if the claimant did not have health benefits |
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| 33 | 33 | | described by Subdivision (1) or did not access those benefits in |
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| 34 | 34 | | obtaining the services, the amount actually paid or incurred by or |
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| 35 | 35 | | on behalf of the claimant is limited to 125 percent of the Medicare |
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| 36 | 36 | | reimbursement rate for the services. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 38 | 38 | | to a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date of |
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| 39 | 39 | | this Act. A cause of action that accrued before the effective date |
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| 40 | 40 | | of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action |
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| 41 | 41 | | immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is |
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| 42 | 42 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 43 | 43 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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