AB 2297

  • California Assembly Bill
  • 2023-2024 Regular Session
  • Introduced in Assembly
  • Passed Assembly May 20, 2024
  • Passed Senate Aug 28, 2024
  • Became Law Sep 24, 2024

Hospital and Emergency Physician Fair Pricing Policies.

Abstract

Existing law requires a hospital to maintain a written charity care policy and a discount payment policy for uninsured patients or patients with high medical costs who are at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Existing law requires the written policy regarding discount payments to also include a statement that an emergency physician who provides emergency medical services in a hospital that provides emergency care is also required by law to provide discounts to uninsured patients or patients with high medical costs who are at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Existing law authorizes an emergency physician to choose to grant eligibility for a discount payment policy to patients with incomes over 350% of the federal poverty level. Existing law defines "high medical costs" for these purposes to mean, among other things, specified annual out-of-pocket costs incurred by the individual at the hospital or a hospital that provided emergency care. This bill would authorize an emergency physician to choose to grant eligibility for a discount payment policy to patients with incomes over 400% of the federal poverty level. The bill would also clarify that out-of-pocket costs for the above-described definition of "high medical costs" means any expenses for medical care that are not reimbursed by insurance or a health coverage program, such as Medicare copays or Medi-Cal cost sharing. Existing law requires a hospital's discount payment policy to clearly state the eligibility criteria based upon income, and authorizes a hospital to consider the income and monetary assets of the patient or the patient's family, as defined, in determining eligibility under its charity care policy. This bill would prohibit a hospital from considering the monetary assets of the patient in determining eligibility for both the charity care and the discount payment policies, but would authorize the hospital to consider the availability of a patient's health savings account held by the patient or the patient's family, as specified. The bill would revise the definition of patient's family, as specified. The bill would instead require that the eligibility for charity care or discounted payments be determined at any time the hospital is in receipt of, among other things, recent pay stubs or income tax returns. The bill would prohibit a hospital or an emergency physician from imposing time limits for applying for charity care or discounted payments, and would prohibit a hospital or emergency physician from denying eligibility based on the timing of a patient's application. The bill would authorize a hospital or emergency physician to waive or reduce Medi-Cal and Medicare cost-sharing amounts as part of its charity care program or discount payment program, as specified. Existing law requires a hospital or an emergency physician to establish a written policy defining standards and practices for the collection of debt. Existing law authorizes a hospital or emergency physician to consider only income and monetary assets, as specified, in determining the amount of debt a hospital or emergency physician may seek to recover from patients who are eligible under the hospital's or emergency physician's charity care or discount payment policy. This bill would eliminate the authorization for a hospital or an emergency physician to consider monetary assets in determining the amount of debt the hospital or emergency physician may seek to recover from patients who are eligible under these policies. Existing law prohibits a hospital, in dealing with patients eligible under the hospital's charity care or discount payment policies, or emergency physician, in dealing with patients eligible under the emergency physician's discount payment policies, from using liens on primary residences as a means of collecting unpaid hospital or emergency physician bills. Existing law prohibits a collection agency, in dealing with a patient under a hospital's charity care or discount payment policies or in dealing with a patient under the emergency physician's discount payment policy, from conducting a sale of a patient's primary residence, as specified, as a means of collecting unpaid hospital or emergency physician bills. This bill would prohibit a hospital or emergency physician from using liens on any real property as a means of collecting unpaid hospital or emergency physician bills, and would prohibit a collection agency from conducting a sale of any real property owned, in part or completely, by a patient or placing a lien on any real property as a means of collecting unpaid hospital or emergency physician bills. The bill would define "charity care" and "discount payment" for the purposes described above. Existing law requires a hospital to reimburse a patient any amount actually paid in excess of the amount due, including interest. Under existing law, a hospital is not required to reimburse the patient or pay interest if the amount due is less than $5. This bill would authorize the hospital to reimburse the patient, but is not required to do so, if the hospital or the department determines that a patient qualified for financial assistance at the time the patient was first billed and it has been 5 years or more since the last payment to the hospital, hospital assignee, or debt buyer or the patient debt was sold to a debt buyer in accordance with state law in effect at the time the debt was sold, if sold before January 1, 2022. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to be responsible for the enforcement of the hospital pricing policy provisions for violations occurring prior to January 1, 2024. Existing law requires the Department of Health Care Access and Information to be responsible for the enforcement of these provisions for violations occurring on or after January 1, 2024. This bill would require the Department of Health Care Access and Information to also have enforcement authority to assess penalties for violations that occurred on or after January 1, 2022, that arise out of the same investigation for investigations involving hospital actions occurring on or after January 1, 2024, as specified. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 127425 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by Senate Bill 1061, to be operative only if this bill and Senate Bill 1061 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Bill Sponsors (4)

Votes


Actions


Sep 24, 2024

California State Legislature

Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 511, Statutes of 2024.

California State Legislature

Approved by the Governor.

Sep 11, 2024

California State Legislature

Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

Aug 29, 2024

Assembly

Assembly Rule 77 suspended.

Assembly

Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 60. Noes 0.).

Aug 28, 2024

Senate

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 30. Noes 7.).

Assembly

In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 30 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

Aug 26, 2024

Senate

Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

Aug 23, 2024

Senate

Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

Aug 13, 2024

Senate

Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

Aug 12, 2024

Senate

From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.

Aug 05, 2024

Senate

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  • Amendment-Introduction
  • Amendment-Passage
  • Reading-1
  • Reading-2
  • Referral-Committee
Com. on APPR.

Jul 29, 2024

Senate

In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

Jun 26, 2024

Senate

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 2.) (June 25). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  • Committee-Passage
  • Committee-Passage-Favorable
  • Referral-Committee
Com. on APPR.

Jun 17, 2024

Senate

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  • Amendment-Passage
  • Reading-1
  • Reading-2
  • Referral-Committee
Com. on JUD.

Jun 13, 2024

Senate

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 7. Noes 2.) (June 12).

May 29, 2024

Senate

Referred to Coms. on HEALTH and JUD.

  • Referral-Committee
Coms. on HEALTH and JUD.

May 21, 2024

Senate

In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

May 20, 2024

Assembly

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 56. Noes 6. Page 5316.)

May 09, 2024

Assembly

Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

May 08, 2024

Assembly

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 2.) (May 8).

Apr 23, 2024

Assembly

Coauthors revised.

Assembly

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 2.) (April 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  • Committee-Passage
  • Committee-Passage-Favorable
  • Referral-Committee
Com. on APPR.

Apr 15, 2024

Assembly

Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  • Referral-Committee
Com. on JUD.

Apr 11, 2024

Assembly

Read second time and amended.

Apr 10, 2024

Assembly

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 13. Noes 2.) (April 9).

Mar 26, 2024

Assembly

In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

Feb 26, 2024

Assembly

Referred to Coms. on HEALTH and JUD.

  • Referral-Committee
Coms. on HEALTH and JUD.

Feb 13, 2024

Assembly

From printer. May be heard in committee March 14.

Feb 12, 2024

Assembly

Read first time. To print.

Bill Text

Bill Text Versions Format
AB2297 HTML
02/12/24 - Introduced PDF
04/11/24 - Amended Assembly PDF
06/17/24 - Amended Senate PDF
08/05/24 - Amended Senate PDF
08/23/24 - Amended Senate PDF
09/03/24 - Enrolled PDF
09/24/24 - Chaptered PDF

Related Documents

Document Format
04/05/24- Assembly Health PDF
04/19/24- Assembly Judiciary PDF
05/06/24- Assembly Appropriations PDF
05/09/24- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS PDF
06/10/24- Senate Health PDF
06/21/24- Senate Judiciary PDF
08/14/24- Sen. Floor Analyses PDF
08/26/24- Sen. Floor Analyses PDF
08/29/24- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS PDF

Sources

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