Florida Senate - 2025                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 656
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì967282;Î967282                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/26/2025           .                                
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       The Committee on Health Policy (Rodriguez) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Subsection (1) and paragraph (e) of subsection
    6  (2) of section 395.3011, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
    7         395.3011 Billing and collection activities.—
    8         (1) As used in this section, the term “extraordinary
    9  collection action” means any of the following actions taken by a
   10  licensed facility against an individual in relation to obtaining
   11  payment of a bill for care covered under the facility’s
   12  financial assistance policy:
   13         (a) Selling the individual’s debt to another party.
   14         (b) Reporting adverse information about the individual to
   15  consumer credit reporting agencies or credit bureaus.
   16         (c) Deferring, denying, or requiring a payment before
   17  providing medically necessary care because of the individual’s
   18  nonpayment of one or more bills for previously provided care
   19  covered under the facility’s financial assistance policy.
   20         (d) Actions that require a legal or judicial process,
   21  including, but not limited to:
   22         1. Placing a lien on the individual’s property;
   23         2. Foreclosing on the individual’s real property;
   24         3. Attaching or seizing the individual’s bank account or
   25  any other personal property;
   26         4. Commencing a civil action against the individual;
   27         5. Causing the individual’s arrest; or
   28         6. Garnishing the individual’s wages.
   29         (2) A facility may not engage in an extraordinary
   30  collection action against an individual to obtain payment for
   31  services:
   32         (e) For 30 days after notifying the patient in writing, by
   33  certified mail, or by other traceable delivery method, that a
   34  collection action will commence absent additional action by the
   35  patient. However, a facility may engage in an extraordinary
   36  collection action without providing 30 days’ notice if both of
   37  the following conditions are met:
   38         1. The facility contracts to sell an individual’s debt to
   39  another party, provided that the debt may not incur interest or
   40  fees and that no other extraordinary actions are taken, as
   41  described in subsection (1).
   42         2. If the debt is later determined to qualify for charity
   43  care under the facility’s financial assistance policy, such debt
   44  is returned to the licensed facility.
   45         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
   46  
   47  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   48  And the title is amended as follows:
   49         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   50  and insert:
   51                        A bill to be entitled                      
   52         An act relating to health care billing and collection
   53         activities; amending s. 395.3011, F.S.; revising the
   54         definition of the term “extraordinary collection
   55         action”; authorizing facilities to engage in an
   56         extraordinary collection action under certain
   57         circumstances; providing an effective date.