Montana Code 30-14-2602. Balance billing information — notification to ambulance companies
30-14-2602. Balance billing information — notification to ambulance companies. (1) (a) Subject to one of the conditions under subsection (1)(b), an ambulance service licensed in this state may not submit to a consumer reporting agency information intended to affect a patient’s credit report because the patient has not made full payment of a bill for ambulance services.
Terms Used In Montana Code 30-14-2602
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. Source: OCC
- Customary: means according to usage. See Montana Code 1-1-206
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Usual: means according to usage. See Montana Code 1-1-206
(b)The prohibition under subsection (1)(a) is effective if:
(i)the patient’s insurer or health plan has paid for the ambulance services based on the in-network or out-of-network charges outlined in the patient’s insurance plan; or
(ii)an uninsured patient has paid toward the bill and filed with the attorney general’s office a complaint regarding the bill as being an unfair trade practice because the bill is not based on usual and customary charges in the state.
(2)An ambulance service that transfers a bill to a collection agency shall state that the collection agency may not report as delinquent to a consumer reporting agency a bill covered by subsection (1).