As filed, these companion bills required the posting of facility fees, network status of the physicians, network status of the facility, and numerous provisions related to mediation. This is the version that TAFEC members testified against in the Senate Business and Commerce Committee. Schwertner and Bonnen later amended their legislation to remove all of the provisions that TAFEC previously opposed including mediation. SB 425 was signed by the Governor and now the DSHS will adopt rules in the fall on the remaining posting requirements. Here is the required posting:
- This facility is a freestanding emergency medical care facility;
- This facility charges rates comparable to a hospital emergency room and may charge a facility fee;
- This facility or a physician providing medical care at this facility may not be a participating provider in patient’s health benefit network;
- The physician providing medical care at this facility may bill separately from the facility for the medical care provided to a patient.