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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | November 21, 2023 12:46 PM |
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| From: | Representative Arvind Venkat |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Prohibiting Mandatory Electronic Credit Card Payment Fees Charged to Health Care Providers for Reimbursement of In-Network Clinical Services |
| In the contractual relationship between a health insurer and clinician, one of the benefits is ease of reimbursement for clinical services, usually be electronic payment. Nationwide, more than $2 trillion in medical claims are paid electronically to physicians alone. However, in-network health providers can be forced to accept payment via an electronic credit card with mandatory fees that significantly reduce their agreed upon reimbursement. In 2021, an estimated 60% of medical practices were required to pay significantly disproportionate fees for electronic credit card payments. Electronic credit card payment fees can cost large medical practices an estimated $1 million annually and roughly $100,000 for smaller medical practices (The Hidden Fee Costing Doctors Millions Every Year — ProPublica). For these reasons, I will be introducing legislation that would prohibit a health insurer from restricting the method of payment to a participating health care provider so that the exclusive method is an electronic credit card with mandatory fees. This legislation would not prohibit health insurers from using credit card payments but would instead require health insurers to provide other payment methods to allow health care providers the ability to choose one that better aligns with their practice and only permit electronic credit card payment with mandatory fees if agreed upon by the in-network provider. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation that would prohibit mandatory electronic payment fees health care providers are being subjected to for providing essential patient care. |
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Introduced as HB1867