PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
An Act To Create Equity in Hospital Charges
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1712-A  is enacted to read:
§ 1712-A.  Limitation on billing
Beginning January 1, 2008, a hospital licensed under chapter 405 shall apply an allowance or discount against a fee for inpatient or outpatient services provided by the hospital to a self-pay patient in an amount equal to an allowance or discount the hospital applies to fees for similar services under MaineCare or Medicare, whichever is less. For purposes of this section, "self-pay patient" means a patient who does not have 3rd-party insurance coverage and whose family income is less than 400% of the federal poverty guidelines published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires a hospital to apply the same allowance or discount against the medical expenses of a self-pay patient as the hospital would apply to MaineCare or Medicare, whichever is less. A self-pay patient is a patient who does not have insurance coverage and whose family income is less than 400% of the federal poverty guidelines.