New Guidance Issued as Ban on Surprise Medical Bills Set to Take Effect

By Consumers For Quality Care, on October 13, 2021

The New York Times reported that the Biden administration recently released a rule for implementing the No Surprises Act that directs arbiters to first focus on the median price of the emergency medical care service in that area when pricing disputes arise between insurers and providers over out-of-network bills.

While arbiters can consider five other factors in pricing disputes, they have now been given a starting point by the federal government.

The No Surprises Act, which bans surprise medical bills will take effect in 2022. The Biden administration and other leaders in Congress say this new rule will take patients out of billing disputes between doctors and insurers.

CQC supports protecting consumers from incurring massive amounts of medical debt and looks forward to the bill’s full implementation next year.