(a) (1) Notwithstanding Section 10352, a health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2020, shall provide that if an insured or subscriber receives covered services from a noncontracting air ambulance provider, the insured or subscriber shall pay no more than the same cost sharing that the insured or subscriber would pay for the same covered services received from a contracting air ambulance provider. This amount shall be referred to as the “in-network cost-sharing amount.”

(2) A subscriber or insured shall not owe the noncontracting provider more than the in-network cost-sharing amount for services subject to this section. At the time of payment by the insurer to the noncontracting provider, the insurer shall inform the insured or subscriber and the noncontracting provider of the in-network cost-sharing amount owed by the insured or subscriber.

(b) The following shall apply for purposes of this section:

(1) Any cost sharing paid by the insured or subscriber for the services subject to this section shall count toward the limit on annual out-of-pocket expenses established under Section 10112.28.

(2) Cost sharing arising from services subject to this section shall be counted toward any deductible in the same manner as cost sharing would be attributed to a contracting provider.

(3) The cost sharing paid by the insured or subscriber pursuant to this section shall satisfy the insured’s or subscriber’s obligation to pay cost sharing for the health service.

(c) A noncontracting provider may advance to collections only the in-network cost-sharing amount, as determined by the insurer pursuant to subdivision (a), that the insured or subscriber failed to pay.

(d) A health insurer or a provider may seek relief in any court for the purpose of resolving a payment dispute. A provider is not prohibited from using a health insurer’s existing dispute resolution processes.

(Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 537, Sec. 3. (AB 651) Effective January 1, 2020.)