Sources: Health Policy Institute of Ohio and American Academy of Family Physicians
On May 16, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation to protect patients from massive, unexpected medical bills, as momentum grows around the issue (Source: “Bipartisan Senators Unveil Measure to End Surprise Medical Bills,” The Hill, May 16, 2019).
The legislation, led by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), comes as the House also introduced legislation, and President Trump recently called for action.
The legislation would protect patients from getting massive, “surprise” medical bills when they get care from a doctor who is not in their insurance network. The STOP Surprise Medical Bills Act would include an arbitration process and final payments would be based on “commercially-reasonable rates for that geographic area,” according to Sen. Hassan’s office.
AAFP recently sent a letter that called on Congress to protect patients from surprise bills.