FIC: Health Insurance Organ Transplant Discrimination Bill Approved In House and Senate

By:  Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 1556 and HB 1179 prohibit specified entities from denying, refusing to allocate, or lowering an individual’s priority for organ transplant medical services solely on the basis of an individual’s intellectual or developmental disability. The insurance part of the bills prohibits insurers, nonprofit health care service plans, and health…

FIC: PBM Regulation Bill Passes Senate Committee

By:  Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate moved their PBM regulation bill out of its first (of three) committee on January 28, 2020 when the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee approved SB 1338 with a technical amendment, but also with a commitment from the bill sponsor to look at adding other, more controversial, amendments…

FIC: Air Ambulance Balance Billing Prohibition Advances In House and Senate

By:  Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel House and Senate committees advanced bills prohibiting balance billing by air ambulances during meetings on January 21, 2020.  Under current law, air ambulances are still allowed to balance bill consumers.  In contrast, balance billing by out-of-network health care providers for emergency or nonemergency services was abolished in 2016. Senate…

FIC: Cash Price Health Bill Moves In House

By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 1205 deals with disclosures from health care providers to patients when the cash price for a covered medical service is cheaper than the patient’s cost sharing obligation under health insurance.  The bill is one of a large number of House health care reform bills designed to further Speaker…