Emergency physicians support shifting patient cost‑sharing collection to insurers; committee lays bill over for more study
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Representative Newton’s HB 4460 would require plans, not providers, to collect copays, coinsurance and deductibles. Dr. Robbie France of Team Health testified that the change would reduce medical debt and administrative burden, but committee members raised concerns about premium impacts, ERISA‑covered plans and implementation. Sponsor laid the bill over for further work.
Representative Newton introduced House Bill 4460, which would transfer responsibility for collecting health‑plan members’ copayments, coinsurance and deductible obligations from providers to the insurance plans themselves. The sponsor said the change aims to create transparency about what patients owe and to reduce medical bad debt and administrative burden for providers.
Dr. Robert (Robbie) France, an emergency physician representing Team Health, testified in support of the bill. He told the committee that emergency departments cannot have financial discussions before care under the federal EMTALA law, which makes collection at the time of service infeasible for many emergency encounters. "This would transfer the responsibility for collecting the health plans members' co payment and deductible cost sharing obligations from the provider of medical services to the party that has the most direct financial relationship with the member, namely the plans," France said, adding that shifting collection could reduce uncompensated care and administrative costs for hospitals and physician groups.
Committee members pressed for details. Representative Tetford/Tedford and others asked whether shifting collection would raise premiums or prompt insurers to change plan offerings (for example, eliminating high‑deductible HSA plans). Members also noted that ERISA‑governed plans, cited as roughly 22% of plans in committee discussion, are not affected by state law; several lawmakers said that difference could create provider confusion and a mixed collection environment. Dr. France said he expected insurers to have the expertise and systems to manage collections and acknowledged the bill might be broad; he accepted amendments or narrowing to emergency medicine as a pragmatic next step.
Citing unresolved questions about federal interactions, fiscal impacts and consumer choice, Representative Newton told the committee he would lay the bill over and return after gathering additional stakeholder input. The committee took no further action on HB 4460 at the hearing.