New Jersey-2010-S3008-Introduced

An Act concerning personal injury protection medical fee schedules, amending P.L.1988, c.119 and supplementing P.L.1972, c.70 (C.39:6A-1 et seq.).

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 10 of P.L.1988, c.119 (C. 39:6A-4.6) is amended to read as follows:

10. a. The Commissioner of Banking and Insurance shall, within 90 days after the effective date of P.L.1990, c.8 (C.17:33B-1 et al.), promulgate medical fee schedules on a regional basis for the reimbursement of health care providers providing services or equipment for medical expense benefits for which payment is to be made by an automobile insurer under personal injury protection coverage pursuant to P.L.1972, c.70 (C.39:6A-1 et seq.), or by an insurer under medical expense benefits coverage pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.154 (C.17:28-1.6). These fee schedules shall be promulgated on the basis of the type of service provided, and shall incorporate the reasonable and prevailing fees of 75% of the practitioners within the region. If, in the case of a specialist provider, there are fewer than 50 specialists within a region, the fee schedule shall incorporate the reasonable and prevailing fees of the specialist providers on a Statewide basis. The commissioner may contract with a proprietary purveyor of fee schedules for the maintenance of the fee schedule, which shall be adjusted biennially for inflation and for the addition of new medical procedures.

b. The fee schedule may provide for reimbursement for appropriate services on the basis of a diagnostic-related (DRG) payment by diagnostic code where appropriate, and may establish the use of a single fee, rather than an unbundled fee, for a group of services if those services are commonly provided together. In the case of multiple procedures performed simultaneously, the fee schedule and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto may also provide for a standard fee for a primary procedure, and proportional reductions in the cost of the additional procedures.

c. No health care provider may demand or request any payment from any person in excess of those permitted by the medical fee schedules established pursuant to this section, nor shall any person be liable to any health care provider for any amount of money which results from the charging of fees in excess of those permitted by the medical fee schedules established pursuant to this section.

d. Medical fee schedules promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to this section shall not include or apply to fees charged by a health care provider which is a hospital licensed as a health care facility pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).

(cf: 1997, c.151, s.33)

2. (New section) Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, any medical fee schedule promulgated pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1988, c.119 (C.39:6A-4.6) on or before the effective date of P.L. c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall not include or apply to fees charged by a health care provider which is a hospital licensed as a health care facility pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill clarifies that medical fee schedules promulgated by the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance for the reimbursement of health care providers in connection with personal injury protection insurance coverage shall not include or apply to fees charged by a hospital which is a licensed health care facility pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).

The bill also provides that, notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, any medical fee schedule promulgated on or before the effective date of the bill shall not include or apply to fees charged by a hospital that is a licensed health care facility pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).