Surprise Billing Legislation Passes Texas Senate with Arbitration Provision

Surprise Billing Legislation Passes Texas Senate with Arbitration Provision: The momentum behind balance billing legislation in Austin is growing, as the Texas Senate has passed SB 1264 29-2 on Tuesday to further prevent surprise billing in Texas. The Texas Tribune reports that the only dissenting votes were physician Republican senators Donna Campbell of New Braunfels and Sen. Charles Schwertner of Georgetown. A bipartisan, bicameral press conference announced an agreement for a bill that is making its way through the Texas Senate this week. The bill is similar to what has been written about before, but a new provision gives the Texas Department of Insurance more power to settle surprise bills, and the Texas Hospital Association has some concerns. For around a decade, Texas has been working to ameliorate the impacts of balance billing, when providers bill patients for the difference between their charge and what the insurance company covers. Often times, these balance bills occur when patients are in an emergency situation and don't have a choice where they