Mikal Watts
Longtime veterans of Texas politics remember the pitched legislative battles in 2001 and 2003 over prompt payment of medical bills by health insurers. The fight ultimately resulted in legislation signed into law by Governor Perry that established tighter timelines for payment of claims and levied interest charges and penalties on insurers that do not comply with them. According to a report in this morning’s edition of the Austin American-Statesman, San Antonio plaintiff’s attorney Mikal Watts has signed up more than 500 health care providers to sue health insurers under the 2003 law, claiming that in thousands of instances insurers have failed to pay those providers within the statutorily mandated time period. The story can be found on the Statesman’s website at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/tort-reform-foes-team-up-to-force-insurance-compan/nT79z/.
