As discussed in our December 13, 2019 blog post on Surprise Billing, states have taken the lead on protecting patients against surprise bills, as the numerous pending bills before the House on the issue have stalled. Now in 2020, two new state surprise billing laws in Texas and the State of Washington have gone into effect, while Congress is trying anew to make something happen on the federal level.
Continue Reading An Update: Despite Resistance, Surprise Billing Restrictions See Continued Legislative Activity

“Surprise billing,” also known as “balance billing,” is one of few areas that garners bipartisan support. Surprise billing occurs when a patient inadvertently goes out of his or her insurer’s network, resulting in a “surprise bill” – often times when they had no choice in the matter. According to a recent analysis of 2017 national claims data by the Health Care Cost Institute, an independent, nonprofit research organization, emergency medicine specialists are the most likely to generate surprise bills. How does this play out? A patient goes to the emergency room at a hospital that is in-network, only to be provided services by a doctor staffing that emergency room who is out-of-network, with the patient having no idea about this billing dichotomy and no means to stop it.
Continue Reading Surprise Billing Initiatives Face Not-So-Surprising Resistance