HBA-ATS H.B. 3111 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3111 By: Uresti Insurance 3/28/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE A hospitalist may be generally defined as a hospital-based physician who specializes in the management of hospitalized patients. The role of a hospitalist is to take responsibility from a primary care physician for the care of an admitted patient. During the patient's stay at the hospital, the hospitalist serves as the patient's physician of record. Once the patient is discharged, the primary care physician resumes primary care for the patient. Some managed care insurers mandate that a hospitalist, instead of a primary care physician, care for an admitted patient. H.B. 3111 prohibits a contract between a physician and a health maintenance organization or an insurance company that markets or sponsors a preferred provider benefit plan from containing a requirement for the mandatory use of a hospitalist. Under this bill, a "hospitalist" is defined as a physician who becomes a physician of record at a hospital for a patient of a participating physician and who may return the care of the patient to that physician at the end of the hospitalization. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Article 20A.18A (Texas Health Maintenance Organization Act), Insurance Code, by adding Subsection (j) to define "hospitalist" as a physician who becomes a physician of record at a hospital for a patient of a participating physician and who may return the care of the patient to that physician at the end of the hospitalization. Prohibits a contract between a health maintenance organization and a physician from containing a requirement for the mandatory use of a hospitalist. SECTION 2. Amends Section 3, Article 3.70-3C, Insurance Code, by adding Subsection (n), to define "hospitalist" as a physician who becomes a physician of record at a hospital for a patient of a participating physician and who may return the care of the patient to that physician at the end of the hospitalization. Prohibits a contract between an insurance company that markets or sponsors a preferred provider benefit plan and a physician from containing a requirement for the mandatory use of a hospitalist. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.