Bill Description: House Bill 501 would clarify the process for filing a lien for medical debt. 

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NOTE: The House Amendment to House Bill 501 did not change the rating or analysis.

Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?

House Bill 501 would amend Section 45-701, Idaho Code, to clarify the time frame for filing a medical lien for nonpayment of a medical debt. 

For patients without insurance, a lien must be filed "before or within ninety (90) days after either the date the patient was discharged from the hospital or the last day services were provided to the patient as a result of the injury, whichever is later."

For patients with insurance, a lien must be filed "during the ninety (90) day period after either the date the patient was discharged from the hospital or the last day services were provided to the patient as a result of the injury but only after all contracted billing adjustments for the services as ordinarily used with that third-party payor are made, provided that such lien may additionally be filed during the thirty (30) days after the hospital has received payment from the third-party payor."

Under the "Idaho patient act" (House Bill 515, 2020), it is incredibly difficult for providers of medical goods and services to collect payment from patients who refuse to pay their bills. House Bill 501 is intended to establish clearly understood rules that a service provider must follow before filing a lien for medical debt.

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