MD HB1336

Requires Maryland acute care and chronic care hospitals to provide refunds to patients who paid more than $25 for hospital services during 2017-2021 and who qualified for free care under financial assistance provisions in effect at that time

Hospitals must begin receiving refund requests and issuing refunds to eligible individuals within 30 days of receiving a request, starting January 1, 2025

Department of Human Services must identify and notify potentially eligible patients using hospital-provided information, and hospitals must conduct marketing campaigns to inform patients about refund availability

Hospitals may not deny refunds based on a patient's presumptive eligibility notification from the Department of Human Services, but may deny refunds if the patient previously failed an asset test for free care

Health Services Cost Review Commission may impose fines up to $50,000 per violation for hospitals that fail to provide required refunds or reimburse state entities for compliance costs; the law's sunset date is extended from June 30, 2025 to June 30, 2028