ARTICLE
By: Kaden Norton and Josh Massingill Statecraft Lobby Team During each legislative session, TCA reviews thousands of bills to determine their potential impact on the practice of chiropractic in Texas. Our legislative team carefully considers which bills to support, which bills to oppose, and which bills might be improved by collaborating with the authors and proposing amendments. One particularly troubling bill (SB 207 and its companion, HB 1617) seemed likely to cause substantial problems for healthcare providers who practice personal injury and, more importantly, reduce injured Texans’ access to healthcare. Different versions of this legislation are winding their way through the House and Senate. SB 207 was reported favorably from the Senate State Affairs Committee on March 31st and is awaiting consideration by the full Senate. HB 1617 was heard in the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee on April 6th and the Committee is expected to vote on the bill in the near future. These bills would simultaneously reduce awards for medical damages while ratcheting up the administrative burdens on healthcare providers in personal injury cases. This would render personal injury practice both economically and logistically impractical for most Texas chiropractors and dramatically reduce injured Texans’ access to chiropractic care. The stated purpose of this legislation is to reduce damages awards in personal injury lawsuits that are based on medical expenses deemed by some as too large. However, we believe that Texas’ courts already have access to the mechanisms necessary to ensure damages awards in personal injury cases reflect the injuries sustained by plaintiffs. For the past several months, we’ve worked closely with the bill authors in an attempt to resolve our concerns. We have submitted written comments, participated in stakeholder meetings, testified in public hearings, and met privately with legislators and staff regarding multiple iterations of this legislation. Although successive versions of this legislation have made various minor improvements, we continue to believe both bills are deeply flawed. The most recent version of HB 1617 would subject providers to abusive legal discovery and time-consuming depositions and testimony at trial…unless the provider is willing to accept a below-market government rate. It would permit billing clerks and other non-doctors to contest the reasonableness and necessity of medical bills, and also includes an unjustifiable “sweetheart” carveout for hospitals. Passing this legislation would have disastrous consequences for healthcare providers and their patients, which is why TCA is committed to preventing these misguided proposals from becoming law. TCA members are encouraged to contact their State Senators and Representatives to share their concerns. To find your legislators’ contact information, visit https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov.
By: Kaden Norton and Josh Massingill Statecraft Lobby Team
During each legislative session, TCA reviews thousands of bills to determine their potential impact on the practice of chiropractic in Texas. Our legislative team carefully considers which bills to support, which bills to oppose, and which bills might be improved by collaborating with the authors and proposing amendments.
One particularly troubling bill (SB 207 and its companion, HB 1617) seemed likely to cause substantial problems for healthcare providers who practice personal injury and, more importantly, reduce injured Texans’ access to healthcare.
Different versions of this legislation are winding their way through the House and Senate. SB 207 was reported favorably from the Senate State Affairs Committee on March 31st and is awaiting consideration by the full Senate. HB 1617 was heard in the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee on April 6th and the Committee is expected to vote on the bill in the near future.
These bills would simultaneously reduce awards for medical damages while ratcheting up the administrative burdens on healthcare providers in personal injury cases. This would render personal injury practice both economically and logistically impractical for most Texas chiropractors and dramatically reduce injured Texans’ access to chiropractic care.
The stated purpose of this legislation is to reduce damages awards in personal injury lawsuits that are based on medical expenses deemed by some as too large. However, we believe that Texas’ courts already have access to the mechanisms necessary to ensure damages awards in personal injury cases reflect the injuries sustained by plaintiffs.
For the past several months, we’ve worked closely with the bill authors in an attempt to resolve our concerns. We have submitted written comments, participated in stakeholder meetings, testified in public hearings, and met privately with legislators and staff regarding multiple iterations of this legislation. Although successive versions of this legislation have made various minor improvements, we continue to believe both bills are deeply flawed.
The most recent version of HB 1617 would subject providers to abusive legal discovery and time-consuming depositions and testimony at trial…unless the provider is willing to accept a below-market government rate. It would permit billing clerks and other non-doctors to contest the reasonableness and necessity of medical bills, and also includes an unjustifiable “sweetheart” carveout for hospitals.
Passing this legislation would have disastrous consequences for healthcare providers and their patients, which is why TCA is committed to preventing these misguided proposals from becoming law. TCA members are encouraged to contact their State Senators and Representatives to share their concerns. To find your legislators’ contact information, visit https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov.