HB 1793 Summary

• Establishes patient right to receive cost estimates from health care providers and insurance cost estimates from health carriers within three business days of request, with detailed information about charges, negotiated rates, and reimbursement amounts.

• Creates the "MO HealthNet Patient-centered Care Act of 2014" establishing a pilot project allowing MO HealthNet recipients to use individual health savings accounts to purchase high-deductible health insurance plans and primary care services starting July 1, 2015.

• Increases asset limits for public assistance eligibility from $1,000 to $2,000 for individuals and from $2,000 to $4,000 for married couples, and increases property limit for families in self-sufficiency programs from $1,000 to $2,000.

• Authorizes licensing of "assistant physicians" (medical school graduates without completed residency) to practice primary care in medically underserved areas under physician supervision through collaborative practice arrangements.

• Prohibits health insurers and health maintenance organizations from requiring enrollees to pay co-payments exceeding the usual and customary retail price of prescription drugs, and restricts changes to maintenance drugs without provider and patient consent.