1. A violation of this subsection constitutes a contract in restraint of trade. A provider of health care shall not willfully enter into, willfully offer to enter into or willfully solicit a contract with a third party that directly or indirectly:
- (a) Restricts the third party from offering incentives to a covered person to use specific providers of health care or otherwise steering a covered person to a specific provider of health care;
- (b) Restricts the third party from assigning providers of health care into tiers for the purpose of encouraging the use of certain providers of health care;
- (c) Requires the third party to place all providers of health care affiliated with a business entity in the same tier;
- (d) Requires the third party to contract with a business entity affiliated with a provider of health care as a condition of entering into a contract with the provider of health care; or
- (e) Prohibits the third party from contracting with a provider of health care that is not a party to the contract or penalizes the third party for entering into such a contract.
- 2. A contract between a provider of health care and a third party may include any provisions not expressly prohibited by subsection 1 or otherwise prohibited by law.
- 3. The provisions of this section do not authorize a third party to subcontract for the performance of obligations under a contract with a provider of health care or delegate such obligations in a manner that is inconsistent with the terms of the contract.
- 4. Any provision of a contract that is described in paragraphs (a) to (e), inclusive, of subsection 1 is void and severable from the contract.
- 5. Any person who conspires to, or does, violate any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
6. As used in this section:
- (a) “Affiliated” means any entity or person who directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a specified entity or person.
- (b) “Covered person” means a policyholder, subscriber, enrollee or other person covered by a third party.
(c) “Provider of health care” means:
- (1) A physician or other health care practitioner who is licensed or otherwise authorized in this State to furnish any health care service; or
- (2) An institution providing health care services or other setting in which health care services are provided, including, without limitation, a hospital, surgical center for ambulatory patients, facility for skilled nursing, residential facility for groups, laboratory and any other such licensed facility.
- (d) “Third party” means any insurer, governmental entity or other organization providing health coverage or benefits in accordance with state or federal law.
(Added to NRS by 2021, 3552)