Bill Text: TX SB392 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to prohibited facility fees for telehealth and telemedicine medical services; providing an administrative penalty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-11-19 - Filed [SB392 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-SB392-Introduced.html
| 89R4690 AB-D | ||
| By: Sparks | S.B. No. 392 | |
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| relating to prohibited facility fees for telehealth and | ||
| telemedicine medical services; providing an administrative | ||
| penalty. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subtitle G, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Chapter 328 to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 328. PROHIBITED FACILITY FEES FOR TELEHEALTH AND | ||
| TELEMEDICINE MEDICAL SERVICES | ||
| Sec. 328.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services | ||
| Commission. | ||
| (2) "Executive commissioner" means the executive | ||
| commissioner of the commission. | ||
| (3) "Facility fee" means a fee a health care provider | ||
| charges that is: | ||
| (A) intended to compensate the health care | ||
| provider for operational expenses; and | ||
| (B) separate from a fee a health care provider | ||
| charges for professional medical services provided to a patient. | ||
| (4) "Freestanding emergency medical care facility" | ||
| has the meaning assigned by Section 254.001. | ||
| (5) "Health care provider" means an individual, | ||
| entity, corporation, person, or organization, whether for profit or | ||
| nonprofit, that provides or bills for the provision of health care | ||
| services in the normal course of business. The term includes a | ||
| hospital system, hospital, hospital-based facility, freestanding | ||
| emergency medical care facility, and urgent care clinic. | ||
| (6) "Hospital" has the meaning assigned by Section | ||
| 241.003. | ||
| (7) "Hospital-based facility" means a facility a | ||
| hospital owns or operates, wholly or partly, at which hospital or | ||
| professional medical services are provided. | ||
| (8) "Telehealth service" and "telemedicine medical | ||
| service" have the meanings assigned by Section 111.001, Occupations | ||
| Code. | ||
| Sec. 328.002. PROHIBITED FACILITY FEES. A health care | ||
| provider may not charge a facility fee for telehealth services or | ||
| telemedicine medical services. | ||
| Sec. 328.003. ENFORCEMENT. (a) The commission shall | ||
| assess an administrative penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 | ||
| against a health care provider that violates this chapter or a rule | ||
| adopted under this chapter. | ||
| (b) This section does not create a private cause of action | ||
| against a provider for legal or equitable relief. | ||
| Sec. 328.004. RULES. The executive commissioner may adopt | ||
| rules to implement this chapter. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2025. | ||
