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Committee corrects ambiguous self‑pay estimate wording to match federal standard
Summary
The committee moved a technical fix to clarify that the cap on how much a final bill may exceed a patient’s self‑pay estimate refers to the amount by which the bill exceeds the estimate — not an absolute cap on total charge — aligning state text with the federal No Surprises Act.
Bridal Darling of the Office of Legislative Legal Services told the committee that a 2023 amendment inserted “or $400, whichever is less” into the wrong part of a self‑pay estimate statute, creating an ambiguous and absurd reading that could be read to cap the total cost of a procedure at $400. Darling described the drafting error and presented a proposed correction.
The memo and draft before the committee would clarify that the limitation — the final cost may not exceed the self‑pay estimate by more than 15% or by $400, whichever is less — applies to the amount by which the estimate may be exceeded. Darling said the federal No Surprises Act was the source of the $400 figure and that the intent of the earlier amendment was to align state statute with the federal standard.
Jeff Reester of the Department of Law told the committee the department supports the change and that while “we aren't seeing problems because I think people are reading it as intended, it is confusing in statute.” Committee members discussed whether to introduce the draft with a petition clause; the committee approved the petition clause amendment and moved the corrected draft forward with bipartisan sponsors.
