87R2919 MCF-F
By: White H.B. No. 472
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to services provided by freestanding emergency medical
care facilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 254.001, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subdivisions (1) and (5) and adding
Subdivisions (1-a) and (1-b) to read as follows:
(1) "Acute care services" means outpatient medical
services, including radiology services, laboratory services,
immunization services, and other non-emergent physician services.
(1-a) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
Commission.
(1-b) "Department" means the commission [Department
of State Health Services].
(5) "Freestanding emergency medical care facility"
means a facility, structurally separate and distinct from a
hospital, that receives an individual and provides:
(A) emergency care, as defined by Subdivision
(2); and
(B) acute care services, as defined by
Subdivision (1).
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 254, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 254.1555 to read as follows:
Sec. 254.1555. CERTAIN FEES PROHIBITED. A facility that
provides acute care services may not charge an emergency facility
fee for providing the services.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.