2014 Iowa Code
TITLE XIV - PROPERTY
SUBTITLE 3 - LIENS
CHAPTER 582 - HOSPITAL LIEN
SECTION 582.1A - Nature of lien.

582.1A  Nature of lien.

1.  Every association, corporation, county, municipal corporation, or other institution maintaining a hospital in the state, which shall furnish medical or other service to any patient injured by reason of an accident not covered by the workers’ compensation Act, shall, if such injured party shall assert or maintain a claim against another for damages on account of such injuries, have a lien upon that part going or belonging to such patient of any recovery or sum had or collected or to be collected by such patient, or by the patient’s heirs or personal representatives in the case of the patient’s death, whether by judgment or by settlement or compromise to the amount of the reasonable and customary charges of such hospital for the treatment, care, and maintenance of such patient in such hospital up to the date of payment of such damages, except as provided in subsection 2.

2.  If a patient provides proof of insurance coverage under a health plan within thirty days of the patient’s discharge from a hospital, the hospital shall submit all charges to the patient’s health plan prior to filing the notice of the lien pursuant to section 582.2.  The patient’s health plan shall not deny payment for hospital services received on the basis that a third party or other insurance carrier is responsible for the patient’s injuries.  If the health plan denies payment for any other reason, the health plan shall nonetheless provide the hospital and the patient with a statement detailing the amount the health plan would have paid for the hospital services provided and the amount the patient would have been responsible for had the claim not been denied.  In such a case, the amount of the lien shall be limited to the amount the hospital would have received if such charges were covered by the patient’s health plan.  A health plan’s failure to provide a statement shall not affect the limitations on a hospital lien pursuant to this section.  This subsection shall not prohibit a hospital from filing notice of a lien pursuant to section 582.2 for the amount owed to the hospital due to patient responsibility including but not limited to deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance.

3.  If at any time subsequent to the filing of the notice of the lien a hospital receives health plan information regarding a patient, the hospital shall not be required to withdraw notice of the lien but shall submit the hospital’s charges to the health plan.  In such a case, the amount of the hospital’s lien shall be limited pursuant to subsection 2.

4.  The lien shall not in any way prejudice or interfere with any lien or contract which may be made by such patient or the patient’s heirs or personal representatives with any attorney or attorneys for handling the claim on behalf of such patient, the patient’s heirs, or personal representatives; provided, further, that the lien shall not be applied or considered valid against a patient covered under the workers’ compensation Act pursuant to chapters 85, 85A, and 85B.

5.  A hospital that recovers from a judgment, verdict, or settlement pursuant to this chapter shall be responsible for the pro rata share of the legal and administrative expenses incurred in obtaining the judgment, verdict, or settlement.

[C35, §10347-f5; C39, §10347.14; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §582.1]

2007 Acts, ch 154, §2 CS2007, §582.1A

Referred to in §582.3