As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to change the landscape of health care access by requiring free screening for sexually transmitted diseases (STD), it is also significantly impacting insurance and billing throughout the country. A major policy issue for publicly funded health care facilities is whether or not they are able to bill a third-party payor or the patient themselves for services rendered. Many of these laws and policies vary across states, so as the ACA takes effect, there are questions as to whether health departments are authorized by state law to provide free STD treatment services, and whether state law expressly prohibits third-party billing for STD services. Third parties that may be billed for services rendered may include insurance companies and the government.
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