Honorable Robert Duncan, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB303 by Nichols (Relating to health care services provided or paid by a hospital district.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Health and Safety Code to authorize a hospital district to recover costs of services paid by the hospital district if the health care services were obtained fraudulently by a person disqualified for services under the Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act.
The bill would authorize a district to file a lien on a tort cause of action or claim of an eligible resident after the hospital district pays the providing hospital for the actual cost of service. The lien would not attach to a workers’ compensation law, the Federal Employees Liability Act, or the Federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. In order to secure a lien, a hospital district would be required to file written notice of the lien with the county clerk of the county in which the services were provided. The county clerk would be required to index the record in the name of the injured individual.
Local Government Impact
The fiscal impact would vary by hospital district depending on how often fraud occurs; whether the hospital district seeks to recover costs; whether the hospital district is successful in recovering/collecting those costs; and what costs the hospital district may experience in taking legal action through a civil lawsuit.