Colorado § 38-27.5-105 - Health-care provider lien - limitations.

§ 38-27.5-105. Health-care provider lien - limitations.

(1) The amount of a health-care provider lien must not exceed the charges for services provided to the injured person by the health-care provider at the time of service at a rate equal to the health-care provider's usual and customary billed charge.

(2) A health-care provider or its assignee shall not add a finance charge, as defined in section 5-1-301 (20), to the health-care provider's usual and customary billed charges or otherwise increase the amount of a health-care provider's usual and customary billed charge when creating or claiming a health-care provider lien. The injured person is only obligated to pay the health-care provider or its assignee the amount of the health-care provider lien.

(3) A health-care provider who creates, holds, or claims a health-care provider lien under this article 27.5, or an assignee who purchases the health-care provider lien, does not pay or reimburse health-care expenses or services and is not a payer of benefits.

(4) In the absence of fraud or misrepresentation by the injured person:

(a) If the injured person does not receive a judgment, settlement, or payment on the injured person's claim against third parties or under an uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance policy, the injured person is not liable to the holder of a health-care provider lien for any portion of the health-care provider lien;

(b) If the injured person receives a net judgment, settlement, or payment that is less than the full amount of the health-care provider lien, the injured person is not liable to the holder of the health-care provider lien for any amount beyond the net judgment, settlement, or payment, and the holder of the health-care provider lien may not file a complaint or counterclaim against the injured person directly to be reimbursed for any amount beyond the net judgment, settlement, or payment. Nothing in this section prevents a health-care provider or its assignee from initiating a declaratory judgment action or participating in an interpleader action or claim pursuant to the Colorado rules of civil procedure, or any other similar action or claim, to determine the health-care provider's or its assignee's share of the injured person's net judgment, settlement, or payment.

(c) The health-care provider or its assignee shall not assign a health-care provider lien to a collection agency or debt collector.

(5) This section does not deem a holder of a health-care provider lien to be a real party in interest.

(6) (a) A health-care provider or its assignee must comply with the provisions of this section to have a valid health-care provider lien under this article 27.5. If a court of competent jurisdiction determines that a health-care provider or its assignee knowingly failed to comply with the provisions of this section, the injured person may seek a ruling from the court concerning what portions of the health-care provider lien, if any, the health-care provider or its assignee may not recover from the injured person due to a wholly or partially invalid health-care provider lien.

(b) Subsections (3), (4), and (5) of this section continue to apply to a health-care provider lien determined to be wholly or partially invalid under this subsection (6).

Source: L. 2021: Entire article added, (HB 21-1300), ch. 473, p. 3392, § 1, effective September 7.