§ 151:12-b — Hospital Rates for Self-Pay Patients

When billing self-pay patients for a service rendered, a hospital shall accept as payment in full an amount no greater than the amount generally billed and received by the hospital for that service for patients covered by health insurance. A hospital shall determine the amount generally billed to health carriers in a manner consistent with Section 9007 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009. A hospital shall provide written notice to a self-pay patient in advance of providing a service and at the time the service is billed regarding the requirements under this section. For the purposes of this section "hospital" means an institution which is engaged in providing to patients, under supervision of physicians, diagnostic and therapeutic services for medical diagnosis, treatment, and care of injured, disabled, or sick persons, or rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of such persons. The term "hospital" includes psychiatric and substance abuse treatment hospitals. In this section, "self-pay" means a patient seeking care at a hospital who does not have any form of insurance, including, but not limited to, health insurance, MedPay coverage, or any other liability coverage.

Legislative History

2010, 240:2, eff. July 1, 2010. 2012, 282:9, eff. June 30, 2015. 2016, 139:1, eff. July 26, 2016.