NU Online News Service, June 21, 11:45 p.m. – The Texas Hospital Association, Austin, Texas, has asked Gov. Rick Perry to include prompt pay on the call of a special session for congressional redistricting.
THA, an advocate for the state?fs hospitals and health care systems, and its members requested the governor?fs help to get health plans to pay claims on time.
On June 17, the governor vetoed House Bill 1862, which would have allowed health plans to delay payments to hospitals and doctors, the THA says.
“The prompt pay law was adopted in 1999, and health plans were involved in the Texas Department of Insurance?fs subsequent development of regulations. Yet in 2001, severe problems still exist with retrospective review of medical necessity and denial of payment for previously authorized services,” says Richard Bettis, president of the Texas Hospital Association.