Medical services: credit or loan.

Existing law prohibits a healing arts licensee, as defined, or an employee or agent of that licensee from charging treatment or costs to an open-end credit or loan extended by a third party that is arranged for or established in the licensee's office before the date on which the treatment is rendered or costs are incurred without first providing a specified written treatment plan, a specified written or electronic notice, and a specified list of which treatment and services are being charged. Existing law prohibits a licensee, or the licensee's employee or agent, from arranging for or establishing credit or a loan that is extended by a third party for a patient who has been administered or is under the influence of general anesthesia, conscious sedation, or nitrous oxide. Existing law provides that a person who willfully violates these provisions is subject to specified civil liability. This bill would instead prohibit a licensee or employee or agent of that licensee from charging treatment or costs to an open-end credit or loan that is extended by a third party and that is arranged for, or established in, that licensee's office more than 30 days before the date on which the treatment is rendered or costs are incurred, except for specified incremental fees charged by a licensed dentist for orthodontic treatment. The bill would additionally prohibit a licensee or employee or agent of that licensee from arranging for or establishing an open-end credit or loan application that contains a deferred interest provision, except as specified. The bill would require a licensee, if the licensee accepts Medi-Cal, to indicate on the treatment plan for a Medi-Cal patient if Medi-Cal would cover an alternate, medically necessary service, as defined, and would require the treatment plan to indicate that the patient has a right to ask for only services covered by Medi-Cal and that the licensee agrees to follow Medi-Cal rules to secure Medi-Cal covered services before treatment. The bill would make it unlawful for a licensee, or an employee or agent of a licensee, to complete any portion of an application for credit or a loan for the patient or arrange for or establish an application that is not completely filled out by the patient. The bill would prohibit a licensee or the licensee's employee or agent from arranging for or establishing credit or a loan that is extended by a third party for a patient in a treatment area where medical treatment is administered unless the patient agrees to do so. The bill would also revise the content of the required written or electronic notice. The bill would make these provisions operative on July 1, 2020.