Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1617 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R1047 SCL-F
2	2	By: Bonnen H.B. No. 1617
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to recovery of medical or health care expenses in civil
8	8	actions.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 41.0105, Civil Practice and Remedies
11	11	Code, is amended to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 41.0105. EVIDENCE RELATING TO AMOUNT OF ECONOMIC
13	13	DAMAGES. (a) In addition to any other limitation under law,
14	14	recovery of medical or health care expenses incurred is limited to
15	15	the amount actually paid or incurred by or on behalf of the
16	16	claimant.
17	17	(b) Subject to Subsection (a), a party in an action in which
18	18	a claimant seeks recovery of medical or health care expenses may
19	19	introduce evidence of the reasonableness of the amount charged for
20	20	medical or health care services provided to the claimant,
21	21	including:
22	22	(1) the amount actually paid for the medical or health
23	23	care services provided to the claimant, unless there is a formal or
24	24	informal agreement that the medical or health care provider will
25	25	wholly or partly refund, rebate, or remit the amount paid to the
26	26	payer or another person, in which case the amount actually paid is
27	27	not admissible in evidence;
28	28	(2) the amount billed by the medical or health care
29	29	provider for the medical or health care services provided to the
30	30	claimant;
31	31	(3) the amount paid, the amount that would have been
32	32	paid, or the amount likely to be paid for the medical or health care
33	33	services provided to the claimant by a health benefit plan,
34	34	workers' compensation insurance, an employer-provided plan,
35	35	Medicaid, Medicare, or another similar source available to pay for
36	36	services provided to the claimant at the time the services were
37	37	provided or available to pay for the services after the services
38	38	were provided, as applicable;
39	39	(4) the average amount typically paid or allowed by
40	40	health benefit plan issuers or governmental payers at or near the
41	41	time the medical or health care services were provided to the
42	42	claimant to medical or health care providers who:
43	43	(A) are located in the same geographic area as
44	44	the medical or health care provider who provided the services to the
45	45	claimant; and
46	46	(B) offer the same type of medical or health care
47	47	services as the services provided to the claimant; or
48	48	(5) the average of the amounts actually accepted for
49	49	payment in the previous 12 months by the medical or health care
50	50	provider who provided medical or health care services to the
51	51	claimant for the same services provided to patients other than the
52	52	claimant.
53	53	SECTION 2. Section 41.0105, Civil Practice and Remedies
54	54	Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an action commenced on
55	55	or after the effective date of this Act. An action commenced before
56	56	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law applicable to
57	57	the action immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
58	58	that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
59	59	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.