MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Sept. 1, 2017) – Today, an Alabama law went into effect that will help facilitate healthcare freedom in the state, and set the stage to nullify in practice federal control over the healthcare industry.
Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) sponsored Senate Bill 94 (SB94). The new law specifies that direct primary care agreements (sometimes called medical retainer agreements) do not constitute insurance, thereby freeing doctors and patients from the onerous requirements and regulations under the state insurance code. The bill also provides that a physician or dentist offering, marketing, selling, or entering into physician or dentist agreements will not be required to obtain a license or certificate of authority from any state entity. SB94 sets certain requirement such agreements would have to meet.
The Senate passed SB94 by a 27-0 margin. The House followed up passing the measure 102-0. With Gov. Kay Ivey’s signature, the new law became effective Sept. 1.
According to Michigan Capitol Confidential, by removing a third party payer from the equation, medical retainer agreements help both physicians and patients minimize costs. Jack Spencer writes:
“Under medical retainer agreements, patients make monthly payments to a physician who in return
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Read more at The Tenth Amendment Center
(The opinions in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Southern Nation News or SN.O.)