TITLE: Relating to the termination by an insurer of a contract with a preferred provider.

SUMMARY: Relating to the termination by an insurer of a contract with a preferred provider.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the termination by an insurer of a contract with a preferred provider. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 1301.057(a), Insurance Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) Before terminating a contract with a preferred provider, an insurer shall: (1) provide written reasons for the termination; and (2) if the affected provider is a practitioner, provide, on request, a reasonable review mechanism, except in a case involving: (A) imminent harm to a patient's health; (B) an action by a state medical or other physician licensing board or other government agency that effectively impairs the practitioner's ability to practice medicine; or (C) fraud or malfeasance committed by the practitioner against the insurer, as determined by a final, unappealable judgment of a court.SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only to a contract entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of this Act. A contract entered into or renewed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.