| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Negative | Neutral | Neutral | Negative | Neutral |
Relating to prohibited reporting of information regarding debt incurred for nonemergency medical care.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
HB 2732 would prohibit a health care provider from providing to a consumer reporting agency information regarding an unpaid debt incurred by a consumer for nonemergency medical care provided to the consumer unless: (1) the consumer is presented with and signs at the time of receipt a disclosure form concerning the medical charges before the medical care is provided; and (2) the information is provided to the consumer reporting agency at least 180 days after the date the consumer receives the medical bill for the charges.
Texas Action recommends opposing HB 2732 because it violates principles of limited government and free markets. Although this bill aims to mitigate the harsh effects of surprise billing, a sympathetic goal, it could also result in obscuring a consumer’s creditworthiness that would be better left to a private lender to determine. Economic analysts, lenders, and businesses rely on dependable and accurate consumer information in order to gauge risk, and this bill would hinder accurate reporting if the bill's provisions were not satisfied.