89R2805 MPF-F
By: Oliverson H.B. No. 2075
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to facility fees charged by certain health care providers;
providing an administrative penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle G, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 328 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 328. PROHIBITED FACILITY FEES BY CERTAIN HEALTH CARE
PROVIDERS
Sec. 328.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
Commission.
(2) "Executive commissioner" means the executive
commissioner of the commission.
(3) "Facility fee" means a fee charged by a health care
provider that is:
(A) intended to compensate the health care
provider for operational expenses; and
(B) separate from a fee charged by a health care
provider for professional medical services provided in a
hospital-based facility.
(4) "Freestanding emergency medical care facility"
has the meaning assigned by Section 254.001.
(5) "Health care provider" means an individual,
entity, corporation, person, or organization, whether for profit or
nonprofit, that provides or bills for the provision of health care
services in the normal course of business. The term includes a
hospital system, hospital, hospital-based facility, freestanding
emergency medical care facility, and urgent care clinic.
(6) "Hospital" has the meaning assigned by Section
241.003.
(7) "Hospital-based facility" means a facility that is
owned or operated, wholly or partly, by a hospital, and where
hospital or professional medical services are provided.
(8) "Hospital campus" means:
(A) the main buildings of a hospital;
(B) the physical area immediately adjacent to the
main buildings of a hospital and other areas or structures that are
not strictly contiguous to the main buildings but are located not
more than 250 yards from the main buildings of a hospital; and
(C) any other area that has been determined by
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to be a hospital
campus.
Sec. 328.002. PROHIBITED FACILITY FEES. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b), a health care provider may not charge a
facility fee for health care services.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to:
(1) services provided on a hospital campus; or
(2) emergency care, as defined by Section 1301.155,
Insurance Code.
Sec. 328.003. ENFORCEMENT. (a) The commission shall assess
an administrative penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 against
a health care provider that violates this chapter or a rule adopted
under this chapter.
(b) This section does not create a private cause of action
against a provider for legal or equitable relief.
Sec. 328.004. RULES. The executive commissioner may adopt
rules to implement this chapter.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.