Sec. 19a-673. (Formerly Sec. 19a-169e). Collections by hospitals from uninsured patients.
Sec. 19a-673. (Formerly Sec. 19a-169e). Collections by hospitals from uninsured patients. (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Cost of providing services" means a hospital's published charges at the time
of billing, multiplied by the hospital's most recent relationship of costs to charges as
taken from the hospital's most recently available annual financial filing with the Office
of Health Care Access.
(2) "Hospital" means an institution licensed by the Department of Public Health as
a short-term general hospital.
(3) "Poverty income guidelines" means the poverty income guidelines issued from
time to time by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
(4) "Uninsured patient" means any person who is liable for one or more hospital
charges whose income is at or below two hundred fifty per cent of the poverty income
guidelines who (A) has applied and been denied eligibility for any medical or health
care coverage provided under the state-administered general assistance program or the
Medicaid program due to failure to satisfy income or other eligibility requirements, and
(B) is not eligible for coverage for hospital services under the Medicare or CHAMPUS
programs, or under any Medicaid or health insurance program of any other nation, state,
territory or commonwealth, or under any other governmental or privately sponsored
health or accident insurance or benefit program including, but not limited to, workers'
compensation and awards, settlements or judgments arising from claims, suits or proceedings involving motor vehicle accidents or alleged negligence.
(b) No hospital that has provided health care services to an uninsured patient may
collect from the uninsured patient more than the cost of providing services.
(c) Each collection agent, as defined in section 19a-509b, engaged in collecting a
debt from a patient arising from services provided at a hospital shall provide written
notice to such patient as to whether the hospital deems the patient an insured patient or
an uninsured patient and the reasons for such determination.
(P.A. 94-9, S. 36, 41; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-2, S. 96, 165; P.A. 03-266, S. 5; P.A. 04-76, S. 30; 04-257, S. 39.)
History: P.A. 94-9 effective April 1, 1994; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and
Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; Sec. 19a-169e transferred
to Sec. 19a-673 in 1997; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-2 made technical changes in Subdiv. (4) of Subsec. (a), effective
July 1, 1997; P.A. 03-266 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by deleting "of an uninsured patient" and changing "audited financial
statements" to "annual financial filing with the Office of Health Care Access", amended Subsec. (a)(4) by adding "who
is liable for one or more hospital charges" and changing income level from 200% to 250%, and added Subsec. (c) re written
notice from collection agent; P.A. 04-76 amended Subsec. (a)(4)(A) by replacing reference to "general assistance program"
with reference to "state-administered general assistance program"; P.A. 04-257 made a technical change in Subsec. (c),
effective June 14, 2004.