PROHIBIT CERTAIN HEALTH CARE FACILITY FEES, the official text

HOUSE BILL 306

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Reena Szczepanski and Elizabeth "Liz" Stefanics

AN ACT

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE; PROHIBITING HEALTH CARE FACILITY FEES
FROM BEING CHARGED FOR CERTAIN SERVICES; REQUIRING DISCLOSURE
OF FACILITY FEES TO PATIENTS AND REPORTING OF FACILITY FEES TO
THE ALL-PAYER CLAIMS DATABASE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be
cited as the "Fair Pricing for Routine Medical Care Act".

SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
Fair Pricing for Routine Medical Care Act:

A. "affiliated with" means that a person is:

(1) employed by a hospital or health system;
or

(2) under a professional services agreement,
faculty agreement or management agreement with a hospital or
health system that permits the hospital or health system to
bill on behalf of the person;

B. "campus" means:

(1) a hospital's main buildings;

(2) the physical area immediately adjacent to

a hospital's main buildings;

(3) structures owned by a hospital that are

not strictly contiguous to the main buildings but are located

within two hundred fifty yards of the main buildings; or

(4) any other area that has been determined by
the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services, on

an individual case-by-case basis, to be part of a hospital's
campus;

C. "critical access hospital" means a hospital that
is federally certified or undergoing federal certification as a
critical access hospital pursuant to federal centers for
medicare and medicaid services regulation;

D. "facility fee" means a fee charged or billed by

a hospital or health system for outpatient hospital services
that is:

(1) intended to compensate the health system

or hospital for operational expenses; and

(2) separate and distinct from a professional

fee charged or billed by a health care provider for
professional medical services;

E. "freestanding emergency department" means a
facility licensed by the health care authority that is separate
from an acute care hospital and that provides twenty-four-hour
emergency care to patients at the same level of care that a
hospital-based emergency department delivers;

F. "health care provider" means any person,
including a health facility, that is licensed or otherwise
authorized to furnish a health care service in the state;

G. "health facility" means a health facility or
health agency required to be licensed by the health care
authority pursuant to the Health Care Code;

H. "health system" means a:

(1) parent corporation of one or more
hospitals and any person affiliated with the parent corporation
through ownership, governance, membership or other means; or

(2) hospital and any person affiliated with
the hospital through ownership, governance, membership or other
means;

I. "hospital" means a health facility that is
licensed by the health care authority as a hospital;

J. "preventive health care service" means a service
recommended by the United States preventive services task
force;

K. "rural" means a rural county or an
unincorporated area of a partially rural county, as designated
by the health resources and services administration of the
United States department of health and human services;

L. "sole community hospital" means a hospital
classified as a sole community hospital by the federal centers
for medicare and medicaid services; and

M. "telehealth" means the use of electronic
information, imaging and communication technologies, including
interactive audio, video, data communications and store-and-
forward technologies, to provide and support health care
delivery, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, transfer of
medical data and education when distance separates the patient
and the health care provider.

SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] LIMITATIONS ON CHARGES FOR
CERTAIN HEALTH CARE SERVICES PROVIDED IN CERTAIN SETTINGS.--

A. Except as provided in Subsection D of this
section, beginning January 1, 2027, a health care provider or
health system shall not charge, bill or collect a facility fee
directly from a patient for:

(1) preventive health care services provided
in an outpatient setting, including services accessed from the
patient's vehicle;

(2) vaccination services provided in an
outpatient setting, including services accessed from the
patient's vehicle; or

(3) telehealth services.

B. Nothing in this section prohibits a health care
provider from charging a facility fee for:

(1) health care services provided in an
inpatient setting;

(2) health care services provided at a
hospital emergency department; or

(3) health care services provided at a
freestanding emergency department.

C. Nothing in this section prohibits a health care
provider or health system from charging, billing or collecting
a facility fee from a patient's insurer pursuant to an
agreement between the health care provider or health system and
the insurer or as required by law.

D. The provisions of Subsection A of this section
shall not apply to a:

(1) critical access hospital;

(2) sole community hospital in a rural area;
or

(3) community clinic affiliated with a sole
community hospital in a rural area.

SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] BILLING TRANSPARENCY AND
PATIENT NOTIFICATION.--Beginning January 1, 2027, a health care
provider affiliated with or owned by a hospital or health
system that charges a facility fee shall:

A. at the time an appointment is scheduled and
again at the time health care services are rendered, provide
notice to a patient that a facility fee may be charged and
indicate the amount of the facility fee. Notice shall, to the
extent practicable, be provided in the patient's preferred
language;

B. post a plainly visible sign written in English
and Spanish that states that a patient may be charged a
facility fee in addition to the cost of the health care service
provided. The sign shall be located within the health facility
in an area where patients seeking care register or check in,
and the sign shall include information on where a patient may
inquire further about facility fees; and

C. provide patients with a standardized bill that:

(1) is clear, consumer-friendly and, to the
extent practicable, in the patient's preferred language;

(2) includes itemized charges for each health
care service provided;

(3) specifically identifies any facility fee
charged;

(4) identifies specific charges that have been
billed to the patient's insurance; and

(5) provides contact information for a person
the patient may contact to contest charges in the bill.

SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] FACILITY FEE REPORTING.--A
hospital or health system that charges a facility fee shall
report data related to the facility fee to the all-payer claims
database established pursuant to the Health Information System
Act. The data shall include the following information for
services provided by a hospital in inpatient settings and
outpatient settings and in locations on the hospital's campus
and off the hospital's campus during each of the three previous
calendar years:

A. the number of times facility fees were charged
to patients;

B. the total dollar amount of facility fees charged
to patients;

C. the twenty-five most common billing codes for
which a facility fee was charged and the total amount charged
to patients for each of those codes;

D. the twenty-five billing codes with the highest
average patient charges and the total amount charged to
patients for each billing code; and

E. any other data required by the department of
health to assess the prevalence and cost of facility fees in
the state.

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