Bill > S695

This bill aims to ensure fair reimbursement for licensed athletic trainers by health insurance providers. Specifically, the legislation mandates that when an athletic trainer is acting with a physician's referral and providing services within their legally authorized scope of practice, they cannot be denied reimbursement if another health care provider would be paid for the same services. The bill applies only to health plans that already cover the specific type of health service or medical condition within an athletic trainer's practice. While insurance providers can still apply standard cost-sharing mechanisms like deductibles, co-payments, and utilization reviews, these cannot be structured in a way that unfairly discriminates against athletic trainers or imposes more restrictive conditions compared to reimbursement for other healthcare providers. The bill defines "health insurance plan" broadly to include various types of individual and group health insurance policies, but explicitly excludes specific disease or limited benefit coverage plans. By establishing these provisions, the legislation seeks to promote consumer choice and equitable treatment of athletic trainers within the healthcare reimbursement system.

Business and Industry, Health and Social Services

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S695