Montana Title 37. Professions and Occupations § 37-2-315. Direct billing for anatomic pathology services

(1) A clinical laboratory or physician providing anatomic pathology services for a patient may present a bill or demand for payment for services furnished by the laboratory or physician only to the following entities:

(2) Except as provided in subsection (5), a physician or other practitioner of the healing arts licensed pursuant to Title 37 may not directly or indirectly bill or charge for or solicit payment for anatomic pathology services unless those services were provided personally by the physician or other practitioner or under the direct supervision of a physician providing that supervision for the purposes of 42 U.S.C. 263a.

(3) The following entities are not required to reimburse a physician for a bill or charge made in violation of this section:

(4) This section does not require an assignment of benefits for anatomic pathology services.

(5) This section does not prohibit billing between laboratories, other than laboratories in which the patient's physician or other practitioner of the healing arts has a financial interest, for anatomic pathology services in instances requiring that a sample be sent to a specialist at another laboratory.

(6) This section does not prohibit a clinical laboratory or physician providing anatomic pathology services for a patient from presenting a bill or demand for payment for those services or presenting separate bills or demands for payment to a payor when allowed by this section.

(7) The licensing entity for a physician or other practitioner of the healing arts licensed pursuant to Title 37 may revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew the license of a physician or other practitioner of the healing arts who violates a provision of this section.

(8) As used in this section, the following definitions apply: