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AB 282

Revises provisions relating to billing for health care. (BDR 40-785)

2025 Regular Session Introduced by David Orentlicher

Would require facilities to pause billing on disputed charges, investigate within 30 days, and refund any overpayments within 60 days, with help from the Consumer Health Advocate.

Vetoed by the Governor.
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Bill Summary · AB 282

AB 282 — Summary (BDR 40-785)

Status: Vetoed by the Governor (June 10, 2025)
Introduced: Feb 24, 2025 (read first Jan–Feb 2025; passed Assembly and Senate; enrolled June 5, 2025)
Sponsor: Assemblymember David Orentlicher (BDR 40‑785)

Purpose

AB 282 would have required medical facilities and billing entities to respond to patient notices of suspected overcharges, to investigate disputed charges without billing the patient for the disputed amounts during the review, and to refund any overpayments within a defined timeframe. It also expanded the role of the Office for Consumer Health Assistance (Governor’s Consumer Health Advocate) to help consumers contest bills.

Key provisions

  • Covered entities: medical facilities and entities that bill for care provided by health‑care providers (billing entities).
  • Patient notice and facility response:
    • If a patient notifies a facility or billing entity of specific overcharges, the facility/entity must investigate and, within 30 days, either:
    • Notify the patient whether it will cancel/refund any portion of the bill (and if not, provide contact info for the Office for Consumer Health Assistance), or
    • Inform the patient that more time is needed to investigate.
    • During an investigation or Office review, the facility/entity may not bill the patient for the specific charge(s) under review but may bill for other, unrelated charges.
  • Refund timing:
    • When an overpayment is determined, the facility or billing entity must refund the overpayment to the patient no later than 60 days after the determination. The refund may be applied to other outstanding charges the patient owes to the same entity.
  • Enforcement and penalties:
    • A facility or billing entity that fails to refund as required is subject to an administrative fine assessed by the Division (statutory language sets the fine rate at 10% of the overpayment up to $5,000 and precludes other administrative sanctions).
    • (Earlier drafts proposed license suspension/revocation and interest payments funded from fines; later amendments narrowed or removed some of those elements.)
  • Consumer assistance:
    • The Governor’s Consumer Health Advocate / Office for Consumer Health Assistance is required to review bills consumers believe erroneous and assist with overcharge disputes; the Office must notify providers when it begins and concludes a review.

Who would be affected

  • Patients/consumers (particularly those who prepay, have high‑deductible plans, or face complex EOBs) — greater procedural rights and timelier refunds.
  • Medical facilities, provider organizations, and billing entities — new response, investigation, recordkeeping and refund obligations; potential fines for noncompliance.
  • State agencies — Office for Consumer Health Assistance workload increased; Division responsible for enforcement; potential state fiscal impacts noted in fiscal notes.

Procedural history (selected)

  • Multiple committee hearings, amendments and reprints between March–June 2025 (Assembly HHS, Judiciary, Appropriations; Senate committees and Finance).
  • Passed the Assembly (May 8, 2025) and the Senate (June 2, 2025) after amendments; enrolled June 5, 2025.
  • Vetoed by the Governor on June 10, 2025.

Practical impact

If enacted, AB 282 would have created a statutory process to accelerate correction of billing overpayments, limited provider billing of disputed items while under review, and provided a consumer assistance pathway — increasing consumer protections but also imposing compliance and potential enforcement costs on providers and billing entities and changing workload for state consumer‑assistance offices.

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

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