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Read. Follow. Verify.Missouri House Bill 1944 Regulates Health Insurance Claims Settlement, Anesthesia Time Limits, and Physician Claim Downcoding
Last action · May 15, 2026: Referred: Emerging Issues(H)Sponsor: George Hruza
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What This Bill Would Do
Missouri House Bill 1944 prohibits health carriers from imposing time limits on anesthesia service payments or excluding from calculations. It also bans automated of physician claims using artificial intelligence, requiring instead that any downcoding decision be made by a licensed physician sharing the same specialty as the treating physician.
Health carriers and state-sponsored insurance programs face new restrictions on how they calculate anesthesia reimbursements and review medical claims, while physicians gain structured batch-appeal rights and enhanced notification standards when claims are altered.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Health carriers
Health carriers and payers are prohibited from using automated downcoding tools, must have same-specialty physicians review claim reductions, and face director enforcement actions for violations.
Physicians
Physicians gain protections against automated claim reductions, receive detailed disclosure when claims are downcoded, and acquire the right to appeal claims in unrestricted batches.
Anesthesia practitioners
Anesthesia providers are protected from policies that impose time limits on anesthesia payments or exclude anesthesia time from service calculations.
Patients
Patients enrolled in state-sponsored or commercial health plans are affected by changes in how medical claims and anesthesia services are reimbursed and processed.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can health insurance companies use artificial intelligence to downcode medical claims under this bill?
Who is legally allowed to make a claim downcoding decision under the proposed law?
What rights do physicians have if their claims are downcoded?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
4 actions- May 15, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred: Emerging Issues(H)
- Jan 8, 2026HouseFloorRead Second Time (H)
- Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroducedRead First Time (H)
- Dec 1, 2025HouseIntroducedPrefiled (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Prohibition of Automated Downcoding in Insurance Claims
The legislation marks a shift by explicitly banning automated intelligence tools from altering medical service codes and shifting review responsibilities to same-specialty licensed physicians.
Connected Entities
Sources
house.mo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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