The No Surprises Act: A Cost Saving Opportunity for Employer Plan Sponsors
Video: Getting Ready for the No Surprises Act - Thought Leaders in Health Law
In 2020, Congress passed the No Surprises Act (NSA) in an attempt to protect patients from surprise billing. Some sections of the NSA became effective January 1, 2022, while other sections are on hold until regulations are...more
Executive Summary - The California Department of Managed Health Care (“DMHC”) issued a recent guidance interpreting the application of the No Surprises Act (“NSA”)—a new federal law prohibiting out-of-network healthcare...more
The Federal No Surprises Act (“Act”), which goes into effect on January 1, 2022, contains provisions designed to protect insured patients from unexpected hospital and physician bills when they receive emergency services in an...more
On July 1, 2021, the Departments of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Treasury, and Labor, along with the Office of Personnel Management (collectively the “Departments”), issued the first tranche of regulations implementing...more
After years of concern from policymakers and industry stakeholders about patients receiving surprise medical bills when they inadvertently use an out-of-network provider, a new federal law will go into effect January 1, 2022,...more
IN THIS ISSUE - As patients struggle with unreal prices, health reformers zero in on hospitals - Smart ways to negotiate a bill down - With public outcry rising on health costs, governments and employers are...more
No Surprise Act - On December 27, 2020, Congress enacted the No Surprise Act (the “Act”) as part of the $900 billion omnibus spending bill. Effective January 1, 2022, the Act provides long-anticipated statutory protections...more
On December 20, 2020, Congressional leaders announced a $900 billion stimulus package and $1.4 trillion government funding deal that includes a long-discussed measure to protect patients from receiving “surprise” medical...more
Lawmakers remain in negotiations among the three key committees in the House of Representatives: Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, and Education & Labor, along with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions...more
House overrides minimum wage veto - On a vote of 100-49, the House voted to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of the minimum wage bill. The bill will raise the state’s minimum wage to $11.75 in 2021, and $12.55 in 2022, and...more
Congress has been working for months to pass legislation protecting patients from surprise medical bills that arise when insured patients unknowingly receive out-of-network (OON) care, usually when receiving emergency medical...more
Push to end surprise medical billing - The Senate Finance Committee heard from providers and health insurers on S.309, a bill that prohibits certain provisions in contracts between health insurers and health care...more
On February 7, 2020, two House committees released competing proposed bills designed to shield patients from “surprise” medical bills. These bills, like others that were proposed last year, would protect patients from...more
Despite a year-end push, Congress will not resolve the surprise billing issue until the first quarter of 2020, at the earliest. On Wednesday, December 11, 2019, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) and...more
“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...more
Surprise billing protections are part of both state and national policy agendas this year in an effort to provide health-care transparency and consumer transparency. New Mexico’s new law now protects consumers by specifically...more
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee recently voted to advance bipartisan legislation, called the Lower Health Care Costs Act (the Act), aimed at, among other things, curbing surprise medical bills. ...more
A group of New Jersey lawmakers recently introduced the Patient Protection Act (A5369, S3816), which would make it more difficult for doctors to transfer or refer patients to out-of-state providers or facilities....more
Lawmakers in both the United States House and Senate are considering two proposals to address unexpected, patient medical bills from out-of-network providers. Often referred to as “surprise medical bills” or “balance...more
Doctors, hospitals, health insurers, and Big Pharma have become so abusive to patients with their billing and pricing that they may have accomplished what many consider a political impossibility ? angering Democrats and...more
Over the last few weeks, President Trump and lawmakers in both the House and Senate have taken several steps to protect patients from surprise medical bills, the latest signs of bipartisan momentum to address the issue this...more
During a May 9, 2019 press event, President Trump urged Congress to pass legislation that would protect patients from surprise medical bills. “Surprise medical billing” occurs when a patient seeks care at an in-network...more
No one wants to be faced with a large, unexpected medical bill after receiving health care services. Unfortunately, patients often find themselves in this situation after seeking emergency treatment or transportation,...more
The Arkansas Water Provider Legislative Task Force (“Task Force”) published a final version of its report titled: Summary Report: Vision for the Future, Challenges, Recommendations 2017-2018 Task Force Meetings (“Report”)...more