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Information on Medical Bills in Texas

Texas gives consumers the right to a fully detailed medical bill upon request. Billing for services not rendered or for more expensive services is fraud. The Texas Debt Collection Act is broader than the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

  1. Medical Bill Collection Laws

    • The statute of limitations on debt collection of medical bills in Texas is 4 years. However, both the Texas and federal laws limit medical bill collectors.

    Medical Billing Fraud

    • Medical coding is the practice of assigning codes to medical goods and provided services. Up-coding is the act of assigning a higher code, which is more expensive than the actual services rendered; this is fraud. Texas monitors Medicaid billing for potential fraud using the Texas Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Detection System.

    Laws on Medical Billing

    • When a patient sees medical providers outside of her health care insurance network, service providers can bill consumers for the amount insurance does not pay. This is called balance billing. Texas law gives consumers the right to request in advance estimates of the medical bill. Texas also has a clean claim law. It requires health insurers pay "clean" medical bills within 45 days. Insurers that do not pay clean claim medical bills within the time window risk fines and loss of their medical insurance licenses.

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