Surprise Billing
At a Glance
The Issue:
On Dec. 27, 2020, the No Surprises Act was signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (H.R. 133; Division BB – Private Health Insurance and Public Health Provisions). The No Surprises Act addresses surprise medical billing at the federal level. Most sections of the legislation go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, and the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor are tasked with issuing regulations and guidance to implement a number of the provisions.
Our Take:
The hospital and health system field strongly supports protecting patients from surprise medical bills. The AHA is pleased that Congress rejected approaches that would impose arbitrary rates on providers, which could have significant consequences far beyond the scope of surprise medical bills and impact access to hospital care. We also applaud Congress for rejecting attempts to base rates on public payers, including Medicare and Medicaid, which historically pay far less than the cost of delivering care. We believe this legislation is an important step forward in protecting patients.
Resources
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AHA, AMA and Others on No Surprises Act Rule That Jeopardizes Patient Access to Care
- Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (December 9, 2021)
- Plaintiffs Motion for Stay Pending Judicial Review, Or in the Alternative, For Summary Judgment (December 9, 2021)
- Declaration of Bethany Sexton (Renown Health) in Support of Plaintiffs Motion for Preliminary Injunction (December 9, 2021)
- Declaration of Catherine M. Rossi (UMass Memorial Health) in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Stay Pending Judicial Review, or in the Alternative, a Preliminary Injunction (December 9, 2021)
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- Detailed Summary of Part 2 of Regulations Banning Surprise Medical Billing(Oct. 18, 2021)
- Agencies Issue ‘Part Two’ of Regulations Banning Surprise Medical Bills(Oct. 1, 2021)
- Departments Release Proposed Rule on No Surprises Act Enforcement, Air Ambulance, and Agent/Broker Disclosure (Sept. 14, 2021)
- AHA Regulatory Advisory: Detailed Summary of Part 1 of Regulations Banning Surprise Medical Billing (July 16, 2021)
- AHA to CMS: Letter on Good Faith Estimates and Advanced Explanation of Benefits (June 2, 2021)
- Departments of HHS, Labor, and Treasury Release FAQs on Transparency, No Surprises Act Regulations
- Detailed Summary of Health Provisions in Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
- Legislative Advisory: No Surprises Act
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- AHA Comments to CMS Re: Agency Information Collection re: Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part II (March 4, 2022)
- AHA Special Bulletin: CMS Releases New Guidance on No Surprises Act Requirements Effective Jan. 1, 2022 (Jan 5, 2022)
- Use Model Letter to Submit Comments on Interim Final Rule on Requirements Related to Surprise Billing, Part 2 (Nov 21, 2021)
- Action Alert on House Dear Colleague Letter on Surprise Medical Billing Regulation (October 20, 2021)
- AHA Letter on Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part I (September 1, 2021)
- Letter on Guidance Documents Implementing No Surprises Act’s Provisions on Notice and Consent and Public Disclosure (August 11, 2021)
- AHA Special Bulletin: Agencies Issue Part One of Regulations Banning Surprise Medical Bills (July 2, 2021)
- AHA to CMS: Surprise Medical Billing Provisions (March 30, 2021)
- AHA to CMS: Price Transparency Provisions (March 16, 2021)
- AHA to Congress: No Surprises Act (December 13, 2020)
- AHA’s Surprise Billing Principles
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- Good Faith Estimate Webinar (October 12, 2022)
- No Surprises Act Implementation Handbook (March 25, 2022)
- No Surprises Act Regulations and Guidance
- Recording of 4/14 training: An Overview of the Independent Dispute Resolution Process for Disputing Parties Part II
- Provider Requirements and Resources
- State Enforcement Letters
- Agencies issue No Surprises Act guidance for debt collectors, consumer video
- New Federal Patient Notice and Disclosure Rules Effective January 1, 2022
- Checklist of No Surprises Act Provisions Effective Jan. 1, 2022
- Implementing Regulations on Surprise Medical Billing: Part 4, Member Webinar, November 17, 2021
- The No Surprises Act: Uninsured/Self-Pay Good Faith Estimate Frequently Asked Questions
- Implementing Regulations on Surprise Medical Billing: Part 3, Member Webinar, October 20, 2021
- Lawmakers to Regulators: Implement No Surprises Act Dispute Resolution as Intended (June 17, 2021)
- Implementing Regulations on Surprise Medical Billing: Part 2, Member Webinar, August 3, 2021
- Implementing Regulations on Surprise Medical Billing: Part 1, Member Webinar, July 21, 2021
- No Surprises Act: Price Transparency Provisions Member Webinar, July 9, 2021
- No Surprises Act Member Webinar - June 3, 2021
- Surprise Billing Updates and Resources
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- Patient Billing Guidelines
- Fact Sheet: Patients Should Not Settle for Subpar Patient Protections against Surprise Medical Billing, November 9, 2020
- Perspective: Making Progress on Protecting Patients from Surprise Medical Bills, February 14, 2020
- AHA calls for protecting patients from surprise bills, July 17, 2019
- Perspective: Protecting patients from surprise bills, June 14, 2019
Key Takeaways
Among many other provisions, the No Surprises Act:
- Protects patients from receiving surprise medical bills resulting from gaps in coverage for emergency services and certain services provided by out-of-network clinicians at in-network facilities, including by air ambulances.
- Holds patients liable only for their in-network cost-sharing amount, while giving providers and insurers an opportunity to negotiate reimbursement.
- Allows providers and insurers to access an independent dispute resolution process in the event disputes arise around reimbursement. The legislation does not set a benchmark reimbursement amount.
- Requires both providers and health plans to assist patients in accessing health care cost information.