The North Carolina Senate has passed a bill to increase healthcare cost transparency and promote fair healthcare billing and collection practices.
The bill — which will now advance to Gov. Pat McCrory — requires hospitals and other care providers to present an easy-to-understand itemized bill to patients upon request following their discharge.
Additionally, the legislation would prohibit unreasonable collections practices for unpaid medical bills. This includes not referring unpaid bills to a collections agency if a patient has a pending application for charity care or other financial assistance.
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