Senate Bill 1021 Summary

• Amends Arizona law to require health care providers, patients, and their attorneys to compromise liens and assignments on third-party damage recoveries to achieve fair and equitable settlements.

• Exempts one-third of any third-party judgment, settlement, or award from health care provider liens and assignments.

• Prohibits health care providers with in-network contracts from enforcing liens unless the contract expressly authorizes them, with exceptions for uncovered services, non-network providers, or uninsured patients.

• Establishes 11 specific factors health care providers must consider when determining appropriate lien compromises, including injury severity, available insurance coverage, total settlement amount, and patient attorney fees.

• Allows interested parties to file court actions for judicial determination of appropriate lien compromises if voluntary agreement cannot be reached, with prevailing parties prohibited from recovering attorney fees in such actions.