HB3593ham001 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Dagmara Avelar

Filed: 4/7/2025

10400HB3593ham001 LRB104 09784 BAB 25134 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3593

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3593 as follows:

on page 3, by replacing lines 5 through 7 with the following:

"(10) Third-party individuals or entities are increasingly providing health care services in a hospital building or facility without extending the screening, billing, and"; and

on page 4, by replacing lines 8 through 14 with the following:

""Outsource" or "outsourcing" means contracting with a person or entity not employed by the hospital or not otherwise on the hospital staff. "Outsourced" or "outsourcing" is distinct from an in-network or out-of-network contracted relationship with an insurer described in Section 50."; and

on page 5, line 17, by deleting "on-site"; and

on page 5, line 25, by replacing "on-site health care services provided" with "outsourced health care services provided in a hospital building or facility"; and

on page 6, by replacing lines 2 through 15 with the following:

"(c) In the event the hospital outsources health care services, the hospital's obligations under this Act continue as though the hospital provided the health care services. The provider of the outsourced care shall be responsible for complying with the hospital's financial assistance, charity care, and billing and collections policies upon notification by the hospital that a patient qualifies under such policies before or after bills for such services are submitted to the appropriate billing agent.

(d) The hospital and the provider of outsourced health care services shall execute a written agreement setting forth the manner by which the contractor will operate under the hospital's financial assistance policy, screening procedures, reasonable payment plan obligations, collections provisions, and all applicable provisions of this Act. An individual or entity that provides outsourced care for a hospital shall: (i) establish standards and procedures to facilitate compliance with this Act, (ii) cooperate fully with the hospital by providing reasonable access to billing records or documents upon a reasonable request by the hospital, and (iii) monitor all billing-related activity to ensure that the individual or entity's obligations under this Act are carried out.

(e) The hospital is responsible for ensuring a provider of outsourced health care services complies with this Act. Nothing in this Section shall, in any way, increase the hospital's medical liability."; and

on page 9, by replacing lines 3 through 7 with the following:

""Outsource" or "outsourcing" means contracting with a person or entity not employed by the hospital or not otherwise on the hospital staff."; and

by replacing line 25 on page 13 through line 18 on page 14 with the following:

"(e) In the event the hospital outsources health care services, the hospital's obligations under this Act continue as though the hospital itself provided the health care services. The hospital shall include charges from the third-party individual or entity when calculating the charge, discount, or collectible amount applicable under this Act. The provider of outsourced care shall be responsible for complying with the hospital's financial assistance, charity care, and billing and collections policies upon notification by the hospital that a patient qualifies under such policies before or after bills for such services are submitted to the appropriate billing agent. The hospital and provider of outsourced health care services may agree in writing that charity care and financial assistance provided by an outsourced care provider shall constitute a community benefit provided by the hospital.

(f) The hospital's obligation to patients under this Act covers all health care services, including, but not limited to, outsourced health care services provided in a hospital building or facility by a hospital contractor.

(g) The hospital and the provider of outsourced health care services shall execute a written agreement setting forth the manner by which the contractor will operate under the hospital's financial assistance and uninsured patient discount policies and all applicable provisions of this Act. An individual or entity that provides outsourced care for a hospital shall: (i) establish standards and procedures to facilitate compliance with this Act, (ii) cooperate fully with the hospital by providing reasonable access to billing records or documents upon a reasonable request by the hospital, and (iii) monitor all billing-related activity to ensure that the individual or entity's obligations under this Act are carried out.

(h) The hospital is responsible for ensuring a provider of outsourced health care services complies with this Act. Nothing in this Section shall, in any way, increase the hospital's medical liability.".