By: Talarico H.B. No. 2478
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the reporting of certain information regarding
medically necessary debt on a consumer report.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 20.05, Business & Commerce Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (d) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a consumer
reporting agency may not furnish a consumer report containing
information related to:
(1) a case under Title 11 of the United States Code or
under the federal Bankruptcy Act in which the date of entry of the
order for relief or the date of adjudication predates the consumer
report by more than 10 years;
(2) a suit or judgment in which the date of entry
predates the consumer report by more than seven years or the
governing statute of limitations, whichever is longer;
(3) a tax lien in which the date of payment predates
the consumer report by more than seven years;
(4) a record of arrest, indictment, or conviction of a
crime in which the date of disposition, release, or parole predates
the consumer report by more than seven years;
(5) a collection account with a medical industry code,
if the consumer was covered by a health benefit plan at the time of
the event giving rise to the collection and the collection is for an
outstanding balance, after copayments, deductibles, and
coinsurance, owed to an emergency care provider or a facility-based
provider for an out-of-network benefit claim; [or]
(6) medically necessary debt, regardless of the date
on which the medical debt was incurred; or
(7) another item or event that predates the consumer
report by more than seven years.
(d) In this section:
(1) "Emergency care provider" means a physician,
health care practitioner, facility, or other health care provider
who provides emergency care.
(2) "Facility" has the meaning assigned by Section
324.001, Health and Safety Code.
(3) "Facility-based provider" means a physician,
health care practitioner, or other health care provider who
provides health care or medical services to patients of a facility.
(4) "Health care practitioner" means an individual who
is licensed to provide health care services.
(5) "Medically necessary debt" means a debt or alleged
debt arising from the receipt of health care services provided to:
(A) diagnose or treat an illness, injury,
condition, or disease or the symptoms of an illness, injury,
condition, or disease that meet accepted standards of medicine; or
(B) prevent illness or detect illness at an early
stage, including preventative screening services, vaccines, and
tests.
SECTION 2. Section 20.05(a), Business & Commerce Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to a consumer report furnished on
or after the effective date of this Act. A consumer report
furnished before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect on the date the report was furnished, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.