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HB 673

Neonatal Transport Assistance.

2025-2026 Session

Allocates $656,000/year to UNC Health Care to cover neonatal transport costs denied by insurers, preventing delays in inter-hospital transfers within UNC.

Passed 1st Reading
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Bill Summary · HB 673

HB 673 — Neonatal Transport Assistance (North Carolina) — Summary

What the bill does (purpose)

HB 673 provides targeted state funding to ensure neonatal critical-care transfers within the UNC Health Care System are not delayed when insurance payors deny coverage for transportation (including ambulance and mileage) charges. The intent is to remove a payment barrier that can delay time-sensitive transfers of newborns who need higher-level neonatal care.

Key provisions

  • Appropriation: Recurring General Fund appropriation of $656,000 per year for each year of the 2025–2027 biennium (i.e., $656,000 annually).
  • Recipient/Use: Funds are appropriated to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and must be allocated to the UNC Health Care System solely to cover the aggregate costs of transportation services (including ambulance services and mileage) for neonatal patients transferred from one UNC hospital to another when the patient’s insurer or payor denies coverage for those transportation costs.
  • Reporting: The UNC Board of Governors must submit an annual report to the General Assembly that details:
    • Amounts expended,
    • Number of neonatal transports covered,
    • Any other relevant data on how the funding affected delays in neonatal care.
  • Effective date: July 1, 2025.

Who would be affected

  • Direct beneficiaries: Neonatal patients within the UNC Health Care System requiring inter-hospital transport and their families (when insurers deny transport/mileage coverage).
  • Service provider: UNC Health Care System (receives and administers funds to cover denied transport costs).
  • Insurers/payors: Private insurers and public payors whose denials would otherwise create out-of-pocket or uncompensated transport costs for UNC hospitals; the bill does not alter insurers’ coverage rules but provides state funding to cover denials in practice.
  • State budget: General Fund appropriation will fund these payments.

Fiscal and operational impacts

  • Fiscal: Recurring state cost of $656,000 per year (FY 2025–26 and FY 2026–27). The bill directs existing General Fund resources; no other revenues or offsets are specified.
  • Operational: UNC Health Care must track and document transports for reporting; the Board of Governors administers the allocation. The mechanics (e.g., reimbursement timing, claim adjudication, whether funds reimburse UNC after denial or pay in advance) are not detailed in the bill.

Procedural status (selected)

  • Filed/introduced: (filed/received in 2025 session documents)
  • Referred to: Appropriations (if favorable), then Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
  • Passed 1st Reading: April 3, 2025
  • Effective date if enacted: July 1, 2025
  • Related: Companion bill noted as SB 353 (per bill documents).

Notes / Limitations

  • The appropriation is limited to the UNC Health Care System; it does not create a statewide transport coverage mandate nor change insurers’ legal obligations to reimburse transports.
  • The bill covers only transportation costs denied by payors (including mileage); it does not expand clinical services funding.
  • Implementation details (eligibility verification, audit/reconciliation procedures, and interactions with payor appeals) will need administrative rules or internal policies for operational execution.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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