Bill > H2164

This bill aims to address the issues of hospital facility fees and surprise billing. It does so by: 1. Defining "emergency services" and "surprise bills" to provide clarity on when patients cannot be charged more than they would have paid with an in-network provider. This includes cases where a non-participating provider renders services at a participating facility without the patient's knowledge. 2. Requiring insurance carriers to pay non-participating providers the non-participating provider rate for emergency services, and ensuring patients pay no more out-of-pocket than they would have with an in-network provider. 3. Prohibiting hospitals, health systems, or hospital-based facilities from collecting facility fees for certain outpatient services provided off-site or to uninsured patients, with some exceptions for existing insurance contracts. 4. Designating violations of the facility fee provisions as unfair trade practices under the state's consumer protection laws. The overall aim is to protect consumers from unexpected, high out-of-pocket costs for medical services they did not choose to receive from out-of-network providers.

Business and Industry

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/H2164