Hospital bill installment payment plans.

WORKING DRAFT
2009
STATE OF
WYOMING
09LSO-0118

SENATE FILE
NO.
SF0126

Hospital bill installment
payment plans.

Sponsored by:
Senator(s) Meier and Scott and Representative(s) Harvey

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to
public health and safety; creating a
pilot
program for the installment payment of hospital bills as specified; providing eligibility criteria; providing for payment of interest on installment payment plans by the state; granting rulemaking authority; providing definitions; providing appropriations;
and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.

W.S. 35
‑
2
‑
913

is
created to read:

35
‑
2
‑
913
.

Hospital bill
pilot
installment payment plan
established
.

(a)

The department of health shall administer
or contract for a third party to administer
a
pilot
program
in Laramie County
to facilitate patients' payment on an installment basis of
hospital
bills
or any uninsured amounts under any public or private health benefit plan
as provided in this
section
.

(b)

The installment payment plan established by this section shall be subject to the following:

(i)

E
ligibility
shall be limited to patients
whose household income is less than
four
hundred percent (
4
0
0%) of the federal poverty level
. Applicants whose income is greater than three hundred percent (300%) of the federal poverty level shall be required to demonstrate that they have purchased health insurance with a deductible of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00)
;

(ii)

Participating h
ospitals shall inform uninsured patients upon admission of the availability of installment payment plans as provided in this section;

(iii)

Payment plans may extend for up to five (5) years
, with monthly payments made by the patient directly to the hospital
;

(iv)

Monthly payments shall not exceed the lesser of fifteen percent (15%) of the patient's monthly
gross
household income or twenty per
cent (20%) of the unpaid hospital charges
;

(v)

In calculating a patient's
unpaid
balance, hospital charges shall not exceed the
amount

payable by the Wyoming Medical Assistance and Services Act
;

(vi)

A hospital participating in a payment plan pursuant to this section shall maintain a charity care program consistent with internal revenue service requirements for nonprofit hospitals;

(vi
i
)

The installment payment agreement between the hospital and patient shall be in writing and shall recite the patient's unpaid hospital charges
and
the terms of the payment plan and shall be signed by the
patient, or in the case of a minor or legally incompetent person, the
patient
's legal representative
;

(vi
i
i)

A p
atient
who is in compliance with a payment plan
shall not be liable to pay and shall not be charged interest by a hospital
for the charges that are the subject of the
payment plan;

(
i
x
)

Upon successful completion of an installment payment plan, the hospital shall discharge the patient of any further liability for the
balance of all
unpaid hospital charges recited in the payment plan
;

(
x
)

If a patient fails to make payments as provided in the payment plan for sixty (60) days, the hospital may pursue collection of the entire balance due as of the date of the default and the department shall have no further obligation to the hospital under subsection (b) of this section
.

(
c
)

A participating hospital shall provide a quarterly report to the department of health
which identifies all active payment plans pursuant to this section and the cumulative amount of simple interest that would have accumulated on the patients' unpaid balances using the average rate paid on
United States
ten (10) year treasury bills for the previous calendar year. The department shall, upon verification of the interest calculation
and subject to legislative appropriation
, remit that amount of interest to the participating hospital on a quarterly basis.

(
d
)

The department shall adopt rules and regulations to implement this section.

(
e
)

Any hospital licensed pursuant to this article that does not offer payment plans to patients as provided in this section shall not be eligible for any state-funded program providing funds to the hospital for any otherwise uncompensated care.

T
his subsection shall not be construed to prohibit a hospital's participation in the Medicaid program.

(
f
)

A hospital shall not commence a collection action against a patient who is in compliance with a payment plan as provided in this section. However, n
othing in this section shall be construed to preclude a hospital
from pursuing reimbursement and any enforceme
nt remedy or remedies from private health benefit plans
, third party liability settlements, tortfeasors or other parties legally responsible for a patient's hospital charges.

(
g
)

Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or eliminate any protections
a patient may have as a
consumer under federal and state debt collection laws.

(
h
)

For purposes of this section:

(i)

"Collection action" means
the commencement of any legal process or
any referral of a bill to a collection agency or law firm to collect payment for services from a patient or a patient's guarantor for hospital services
;

(
i
i)

"Hospital" means as defined in W.S. 35
‑
2
‑
901(a)(viii)
,
licensed pursuant to this article
and operating in
Laramie
County
;

(
i
ii)

"Patient" means a person who has received health care at a hospital or a person financially responsible for that person;

(i
v
)

"Private health benefit plan" means as defined in W.S. 26
‑
1
‑
102(a)(xxxiii)
.

(j)

This section is repealed effective July 1, 2014. No new patients shall be eligible to participate in the pilot program established by this section after June 30, 2011.

Section 2.

(a)

There is appropriated
one hundred

fifty thousand dollars ($150,000.00)
from the
general
fund to the department
of health
. This appropriation shall be for the period beginning with the effective date of this act and ending June 30, 2010. This appropriation shall only be expended for the purpose of
paying interest to hospitals as provided in W.S. 35
‑
2
‑
913 created by this act
. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall revert as provided by law on June 30, 2010.

(b)

There is appropriated
fifty
thousand dollars ($
5
0,000.00)
from the
general
fund to the department
of health
. This appropriation shall be for the period beginning with the effective date of this act and ending June 30, 2010. This appropriation shall only be expended for the purpose of
administering the hospital bill installment payment plan created by W.S. 35
‑
2
‑
913
. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall revert as pro
vided by law on June 30, 2010.

Section 3.

This act is effective July 1, 2009.

(END)

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SF0126