Senate health committee favorably reports substitute to change facility-fee rules, keep telehealth exception

The Senate Committee on Health & Human Services on Wednesday adopted a committee substitute for Senate Bill 1232 that rewrites how providers may charge facility fees and advances the measure out of committee on a 6-1 vote.

The substitute removes a requirement for national provider identification numbers, requires a study on facility fees using the all-payer claims database, eliminates a blanket ban on facility fees for preventive services, and creates an exception allowing facility fees for telehealth encounters when the patient is physically located at the facility, Senator Hancock said.

The changes, Hancock said, also expand the definition of "facility fee" to include certain…