LB205 – Summary
Overview
- Bill number: LB205
- Introduced: January 14, 2025
- Committee: Judiciary (Chair: Senator Carolyn Bosn)
- Hearing: February 5, 2025
- Purpose: To reform how medical expenses are proven and disclosed in civil actions, and to cap noneconomic damages in certain personal injury actions involving commercial motor vehicle carriers.
Primary Purpose and Intent
- Place limits on how damages for medical expenses (past and future) are proven in personal injury and wrongful death actions.
- Increase transparency around medical charges by requiring disclosures from claimants seeking damages for medical expenses.
- Cap noneconomic damages at $1 million in certain civil actions involving commercial motor vehicle carriers.
Key Provisions
1) Cap on noneconomic damages
- Noneconomic damages (pain, suffering, etc.) in personal injury actions connected to commercial motor vehicle carriers are capped at $1,000,000.
- Applies to personal injury and wrongful death actions involving commercial motor vehicles.
2) Admissibility and calculation of medical expense damages
- Evidence offered to prove the amount of damages for past or future medical treatment or services shall be admissible only as specified in the act.
- For past medical treatment or services that have been paid, admissible evidence is limited to the amount actually paid, regardless of source.
- For past charges incurred but unpaid, admissible evidence must follow a hierarchy:
- If health care coverage exists (other than Medicare/Medicaid): show the amount the coverage is obligated to pay plus the claimant’s share.
- If treatment occurred under a letter of protection or without submitting charges, show what the coverage would pay plus the claimant’s share.
- If no coverage or coverage through Medicare/Medicaid: show 20% of the Medicare reimbursement rate, or 170% of the applicable state Medicaid rate, as applicable.
- If the letter of protection is transferred to a third party, show what the third party paid or agreed to pay.
- Include reasonable amounts billed for medically necessary treatment or services.
- For future charges, admissible evidence includes:
- The claimant’s share if there is coverage (non-Medicare/Medicaid) or eligibility for such coverage.
- If Medicare/Medicaid coverage applies: 120% of Medicare rates, or 170% of state Medicaid rates, as applicable, plus any reasonable future amounts to be billed.
- The statute does not impose an affirmative duty to contractually reduce charges; it also clarifies that individually billed contracts between providers and other entities are not subject to discovery or admissibility for purposes of proving medical damages.
3) Disclosures by claimants
- Claimants asserting damages for medical expenses must disclose:
- A copy of any letter of protection.
- All itemized billings for medical expenses (with coding).
- Itemization requirements specify coding standards (CPT/HCPCS, ICD, etc.) depending on whether charging is at the provider or facility level.
- The act does not require disclosure of contracted rates between providers and discounting entities beyond what is necessary to substantiate claimed amounts.
4) Definitions and scope
- Provides definitions for key terms, including:
- Claimant, health care coverage, health care provider, and letter of protection.
- Health care coverage includes third-party financing arrangements, state/federal programs, and workers’ compensation, among others.
- Letter of protection includes any arrangement where a provider treats a claimant in exchange for payment from any judgment or settlement, regardless of terminology.
- Indicates the act applies to civil actions for personal injury or wrongful death filed in Nebraska.
Impact and Affected Parties
- Affects personal injury and wrongful death cases involving commercial motor vehicle carriers in Nebraska.
- Impacts plaintiffs seeking medical expense damages, defense counsel, health care providers, insurers, and entities involved in financing medical care (e.g., health care financing arrangements, letters of protection).
- Courts have new duties to apply these evidentiary rules and disclosures.
Timeline and Procedures
- Effective provisions become applicable upon enactment; the bill’s hearing is scheduled for February 5, 2025.
- The act includes explicit procedural steps for admissibility and disclosure to guide judges, juries, and parties.
Notes
- The bill aims to align evidence with actual payments and coverage realities while limiting inflated or disputed medical charge recoveries.
- It also creates a framework intended to increase transparency around medical pricing in trial settings.
