Transparency

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In our November 9, 2021, blog post on the No Surprises Act (“NSA”), we discussed new consumer protections against surprise out-of-network bills. In addition to protecting insured consumers from balance billing, the NSA protects uninsured (or self-pay) individuals from many unexpectedly high medical bills. Specifically, effective January 1, 2022, a provider must furnish a self-pay patient with notice and a good faith estimate (“GFE”) of the cost of care prior to all scheduled services. This includes, among other things, a GFE of the cost of office visits, therapies, diagnostic tests, infusions, surgeries and any services reasonably expected to be provided in conjunction with such scheduled services. On December 21, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued guidance on the Good Faith Estimate and the Patient-Provider Dispute Resolution (“PPDR”) process for people without insurance or who plan to pay the costs themselves.
Continue Reading Q&A: The No Surprises Act’s Protections for Uninsured (or Self-Pay) Individuals

Executive Orders and the Biden Administration’s promises to postpone or withdraw certain last-minute, so-called “midnight rules” promulgated by the Trump Administration are currently grabbing everyone’s attention, especially those in the healthcare space.  But while President Biden may have success in reversing much of his predecessor’s last minute regulatory activity, he is likely to face at least some headwinds as it relates to one of those midnight rules – the “Department of Health and Human Services Transparency and Fairness in Civil Administrative Enforcement Actions” (the “Final Rule”) – that was published in the Federal Register on January 14, 2021 and became effective on January 12, 2021.
Continue Reading Secret Rules and Hidden Penalties: Biden Executive Order Takes Aim at the Trump Administration’s Efforts to Limit HHS’s Use of Guidance Documents in Civil Enforcement Actions

On October 29, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) released the Transparency in Coverage Final Rules (the “Final Rules”), which require non-grandfathered group health plans and health insurance issuers offering non-grandfathered health insurance coverage in the individual and group markets to disclose certain information including negotiated rates with providers and estimated out-of-pocket expenses to enable consumers to make informed health care purchasing decisions.
Continue Reading Trump Administration Finalizes The Transparency in Coverage Rule

On July 29, 2019, CMS released its proposed outpatient prospective payment system (“OPPS”) rule outlining a variety of changes it may implement for calendar year 2020. One proposal that has inspired immediate reactions from industry members would require hospitals to disclose certain additional pricing information, including some prices negotiated with third party payors, to the public.
Continue Reading Proposed and Expanded Disclosure Obligations for Hospitals Regarding not Only Gross Charges, but Third Party Payor Pricing as Well

On April 24, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced a new proposed rule (CMS-1694-P) (“Proposed Rule”). In an attempt to “empower patients through better access to hospital price information,” CMS plans to alter the requirements previously established by Section 2718(e) of the Affordable Care Act.[1]

Under Section 2718(e), “each hospital operating within the United States shall for each year establish (and update) and make public…a list of the hospital’s standard charges for items and services provided by the hospital.” CMS has previously interpreted Section 2718(e) to require hospitals to either make public a list of standard charges or implement policies for allowing the public to view a list of the standard charges by individual request. It was originally believed by CMS that patients could use such information to compare charges for similar services across hospitals, just as someone “shops around” for the best price in plumbing services. However, CMS contends that Section 2718(e), as is currently written, is insufficient to establish the necessary hospital price transparency.
Continue Reading CMS Pushes for Hospital Price Transparency in Proposed Rule