New Hampshire HB 1352: relative to payment and dispute resolution for medical bills under workers compensation.

Bill Text

HB 1352 - AS INTRODUCED

2026 SESSION

 26-3155

 12/06

HOUSE BILL 1352

AN ACT relative to payment and dispute resolution for medical bills under workers compensation.

SPONSORS: Rep. MacKenzie, Hills. 40

COMMITTEE: Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services 

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ANALYSIS

 This bill extends the amount of time insurance carriers, self-insurers, or payors acting on behalf of an insurance carrier or self-insurer have to pay uncontested claims, and establishes an optional mediation process where claims are contested. The bill also modifies the reasonable effort standard for resolving claims with a good faith standard, and increases civil penalties for failure to engage in good faith efforts relative to payment of claims.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

 Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

 26-3155

 12/06

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT relative to payment and dispute resolution for medical bills under workers compensation.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 1 Payment for Reasonable Value of Services; Dispute Resolution. Amend RSA 281-A:24, I to read as follows: 

 I.(a) The employer or the employer's insurance carrier shall pay the reasonable value of medical services provided under this chapter. 

 (b) The health care provider shall have the burden of establishing that its bill for services is reasonable. 

 (c) [Effort] A good faith effort shall be made to resolve any dispute as to the reasonable value of [service] services prior to applying to the commissioner for resolution of such a dispute. To expedite the resolution of a dispute, either party may request the appointment of an impartial mediator, whose role shall be to facilitate communication, define issues and explore alternatives, and remain neutral for the purpose of helping the parties reach a mutually agreeable solution. 

 (d) Whenever an injured employee receives medical or hospital service or other remedial care under the provisions of this chapter and a dispute arises between the employer or the employer's insurance carrier and the person, firm, or corporation rendering such service or care as to the reasonable value of the service or care, the commissioner shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine the reasonable value of such service or care. Any interested party may petition for a hearing and all interested parties shall be entitled to notice and hearing if it is determined that all [reasonable] good faith efforts to resolve the dispute have failed. 

 (e) The commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative shall make a finding as to the reasonable value of such services or care rendered. 

 (f) Any party in interest aggrieved by such a finding may appeal to the compensation appeals board under RSA 281-A:43. 

 (g) The department of labor shall promulgate rules pursuant to RSA 541-A relative to the process of mediation described in subparagraph (c). 

 2 Medical, Hospital, and Remedial Care; Civil Penalties Increased. Amend RSA 281-A:23, V to read as follows: 

 V.(a)(1) The act of the worker in applying for workers' compensation benefits constitutes authorization to any physician, hospital, chiropractor, or other medical vendor to supply all relevant information regarding the worker's occupational injury or illness to the insurer, the insurer's representative, the worker's employer, the worker's representative, the worker's employer's representative, and the department. Medical information relevant to a claim includes a past history of complaints of, or treatment of, a condition similar to that presented in the claim. Any party authorized to request medical information under this subparagraph shall include the following notice in their request for medical records in bold print in a font size at least 2 points larger than that used in the request: 

 "This request is strictly limited to medical information relevant to the occupational injury or illness that underlies the patient's workers' compensation claim, including any past history of complaints of, or treatment of, a condition similar to that presented in the claim." 

 (2) Any person who supplies information in accordance with this paragraph and with rules adopted by the commissioner shall be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred for such action. The physician may require evidence from the workers' representative in his or her representative capacity. This authorization shall be valid for the duration of the work-related injury or illness. 

 (3) T