Bill > SB735

This bill aims to protect patients who receive referrals from direct primary care providers by preventing health insurance carriers from discriminating against these referrals. Specifically, the bill defines a direct primary care provider as a healthcare provider who has an agreement with a patient to provide ongoing primary care services for a monthly fee. The bill prohibits health insurance carriers from denying payment for covered health care services simply because the referral came from a direct primary care provider, and prevents carriers from imposing higher cost-sharing requirements for services referred by direct primary care providers compared to those referred by participating providers. Additionally, the bill allows carriers to request documentation from direct primary care providers to verify their agreement with the patient, such as a written attestation or copy of the agreement. The legislation seeks to ensure that patients who choose direct primary care arrangements are not penalized by their health insurance carriers and can access the same level of coverage and cost-sharing as patients referred by traditional in-network providers.

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https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?251+sum+SB735