§ 127440 Hospital Overpayment Reimbursement

Key Takeaways

•If you paid too much to a hospital, they must give you your money back plus interest within 30 days.
•Hospitals don’t have to pay you back if the extra amount you paid is less than $5.
•If you qualified for financial help when you were first billed, the hospital *can* pay you back but doesn’t *have* to if it’s been 5+ years since your last payment or if your debt was sold to a debt buyer before 2022.
•This law doesn’t take away any other rights you or the hospital have under other laws.

Example

You paid a $1,000 hospital bill, but later found out you only owed $800 because you qualified for a discount.

The hospital must give you back the $200 you overpaid, plus interest, within 30 days. But if you only overpaid by $4, they don’t have to give you anything back.

(a) The hospital shall reimburse the patient or patients any amount actually paid in excess of the amount due under this article, including interest. Interest owed by the hospital to the patient shall accrue at the rate set forth in Section 685.010 of the Code of Civil Procedure, beginning on the date payment by the patient is received by the hospital. However, a hospital is not required to reimburse the patient or pay interest if the amount due is less than five dollars ($5.00). The hospital shall refund the patient within 30 days. (b) The hospital may reimburse the patient, but is not required to do so, if the hospital or the department determines that a patient qualified for financial assistance at the time the patient was first billed and either of the following has occurred: (1) It has been five years or more since the last payment to the hospital, hospital assignee, or debt buyer. (2) The patient debt was sold to a debt buyer in accordance with state law in effect at the time the debt was sold, if sold before January 1, 2022. (c) This section does not diminish or eliminate any rights or responsibilities a hospital may have, nor any rights that a patient may have under existing federal and state laws, including, but not limited to, 26 CFR Sec. 1.501(r)-6. (Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 511, Sec. 8. (AB 2297) Effective January 1, 2025.)

Key Takeaways

•If you paid too much to a hospital, they must give you your money back plus interest within 30 days.
•Hospitals don’t have to pay you back if the extra amount you paid is less than $5.
•If you qualified for financial help when you were first billed, the hospital *can* pay you back but doesn’t *have* to if it’s been 5+ years since your last payment or if your debt was sold to a debt buyer before 2022.
•This law doesn’t take away any other rights you or the hospital have under other laws.

Example

You paid a $1,000 hospital bill, but later found out you only owed $800 because you qualified for a discount.

The hospital must give you back the $200 you overpaid, plus interest, within 30 days. But if you only overpaid by $4, they don’t have to give you anything back.

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

References

§ 127440 Hospital Overpayment Reimbursement

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

References

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References