| 1 | 1 | | By: Talarico H.B. No. 58 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to county and municipal authority regarding certain |
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| 7 | 7 | | medical and health care billing by ambulance service providers. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 113.902(a), Local Government Code, is |
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| 10 | 10 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (a) Except as provided by Section 140.013, the [The] county |
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| 12 | 12 | | treasurer shall direct prosecution for the recovery of any debt |
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| 13 | 13 | | owed to the county, as provided by law, and shall supervise the |
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| 14 | 14 | | collection of the debt. |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 2. Chapter 140, Local Government Code, is amended |
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| 16 | 16 | | by adding Section 140.013 to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | Sec. 140.013. BALANCE BILLING FOR COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL |
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| 18 | 18 | | AMBULANCE SERVICES. (a) "Balance billing" means the practice of |
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| 19 | 19 | | charging an enrollee in a health benefit plan to recover from the |
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| 20 | 20 | | enrollee the balance of a health care provider's fee for a service |
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| 21 | 21 | | received by the enrollee from the health care provider that is not |
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| 22 | 22 | | fully reimbursed by the enrollee's health benefit plan. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (b) A county or municipality may elect to consider a health |
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| 24 | 24 | | benefit plan payment towards a claim for air or ground ambulance |
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| 25 | 25 | | services provided by the county or municipality as payment in full |
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| 26 | 26 | | for those services regardless of the amount the county or |
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| 27 | 27 | | municipality charged for those services. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (c) A county or municipality may not practice balance |
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| 29 | 29 | | billing for a claim for which the county or municipality makes an |
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| 30 | 30 | | election under Subsection (b). |
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| 31 | 31 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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