BUSINESSWashington state bill offers safe harbor for retainer practicesThe proposed legislation would not require physicians who charge a monthly or annual fee to follow all of the same regulations that cover insurance companies.By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. March 6, 2006. A new bill proposed by the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner would create a safe harbor for most physicians who operate retainer practices in the state. That would allow them to offer patient care for a monthly or annual fee without having to follow many of the regulations that govern insurance companies. While physicians may look at the bill as a matter of common sense, the legislation was born out of years of discussion between doctors and state regulators. "We are very pleased we were able to reach a point in hammering out a safe-harbor bill," said Bob Perna, director of health care economics for the Washington State Medical Assn. "Physician practices came up with a different revenue model and in no way thought they would fall under the regulatory arm of the insurance commissioner." HMOs in Washington are required to keep $3 million in reserves to protect customers in the event of insolvency, said Stephanie Marquis, a spokeswoman for Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. Under the proposed bill, however, retainer physicians would not have to meet this requirement. Instead, they would be required to keep patient fees in a trust account so a portion of the funds could be returned to the patient should the retainer agreement be terminated early. Retainer physicians also must send an annual letter to the insurance commissioner certifying that they are in compliance with the law, Marquis said. The bill, which was passed overwhelmingly by the state House of Representatives and was waiting for a vote by a Senate committee at press time, attempts to define retainer practices in the context of health insurance. While physicians likened it to any service for which you would pay a monthly fee, insurance regulators said they needed to have a mechanism to protect patients because the doctors were accepting payment in advance. [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2006 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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