House OKs bill to make insurers cover bad debt

PROVIDENCE – The state House of Representatives has approved legislation that requires health insurers to reimburse hospitals for any uncollected patient co-payment or deductible if the hospital has been unable to collect the money after at least four months of trying.
The insurer would then be able to seek reimbursement from the patient. Currently, hospitals are solely responsible for such collections, and several institutions, including Westerly Hospital, had asked legislators to fully shift the responsibility to insurers.
Rep. Peter L. Lewiss, D-Westerly, had originally sought the latter, but his bill was amended before passage to apply only to debts the hospitals have already tried and failed to collect.
In a news release, Lewiss said the legislation “makes the hospitals and the insurers partners in seeing that co-pays and deductibles are paid without making it the sole burden of one or the other.”
The measure is now before the Senate.

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