How A Conversation Turned Into A Law, Saving Texans Millions On Medical Bills

Karen Borta, Kelsy Mittauer, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth

March 14, 2023

AUSTIN – Thousands of bills have been filed for this legislative session. So how do lawmakers decide what issues to focus on first? It many cases, it starts with one person.

Jerry Stamps works at a church in North Richland Hills. His employees kept getting hit with surprise medical bills. One Sunday, Stamps passed then-Rep. Kelly Hancock in the hallway at church and mentioned the issue to him. That quick chat led to a years-long fight.

"We had six [employees] that year that had balance billing or surprise billing problems," said Stamps. "And each one was kind of heartbreaking because it cost them money out-of-pocket, but there was also huge, emotional wear-and-tear as people had to fight these things."

Click https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/... for a CBS News video report.

CBS Local Digital Media personalizes the global reach of CBS-owned and operated television and radio stations with a local perspective.