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Senate advances bill to protect insured patients from premature collection, delays a disclosure requirement to late 1992
Summary
Senators advanced a revised House Bill 12 to require insurers to notify insured individuals about amounts paid on their behalf and to delay one disclosure provision until Oct. 31, 1992; sponsors said the change addresses provider contracts and gives insurers time to comply.
Salt Lake City — On Feb. 24, 1992, the Utah Senate considered and advanced a second substitute to House Bill 12, a bill concerning payment of health-insurance claims and consumer protections.
Senator Hilliard (sponsor) told the Senate he had provided an amended fiscal note and explained the bill’s mechanics. A floor amendment was adopted to delay a controversial notification provision: paragraph c will not take effect until Oct. 31, 1992, to allow providers and insurers time to renegotiate contracts. "By giving that lead time, they can renegotiate those contracts," the sponsor said, and "then you'd calculate what the percent is" so insured patients receive the same discounts the insurer obtains.
The sponsor described substantive protections the bill provides: when an insurer pays and a policyholder owes a share, the insured would not be liable to the provider until the insurer has paid, and the consumer would have a 15-day window before collection action (or 60 days in a disputed bill). The Senate voted under suspension of the rules to consider the second substitute and then passed the bill; the clerk reported the final roll call as 22 ayes with seven absent.
Next steps: The bill passed the Senate and was placed on the House consent calendar for further action.
