09/04/2025
No Fees for EFTs Legislation takes Effect on Sept. 30 – What You Need to Know
OSMA scored a major win for Ohio physicians in the state budget legislation (HB 96) to include language that prohibits insurers from charging health care providers a fee for delivering payments via check or electronic transmission of funds (EFTs).
The law goes into effect this month on Sept. 30.
Thanks to OSMA-led advocacy efforts, the Ohio General Assembly included this provision in the budget bill—achieving the goal of SB 166, separate legislation which OSMA had also been supporting.
Why it matters
Many insurers have been tacking on unnecessary fees for check and EFT transactions, often without transparency. These charges add up quickly for many practices of all sizes – placing an unfair burden and penalizing practices for paying in an efficient and secure manner.
What the legislation does
Prohibits health plans, including any vendor the health plan contacts with, from charging a fee for a check or EFT payment made to a provider.
If health plan, including an agent, affiliate or third party contracted with health plan, pays provider via credit card, the following apply:
- Health plan must notify provider if a fee is associated with the credit card payment;
- Health plan must offer payment that does not have a fee associated with it;
- Health plan must give clear instructions on how to opt out of credit card payment;
- Health plan cannot opt provider back in to receiving credit card payment unless a claim has not been filed with that specific health plan in over a year.
We Need Your Help Monitoring Implementation
Starting on Sept. 30, we urge all OSMA members to review their transactions with insurers to ensure the law is being followed. If you find instances where it is not, we recommend you contact the insurer directly and email us at info@osma.org so we can follow up with policymakers regarding compliance.