Interest Groups Ramp Up Surprise Billing Campaign
Several advocacy groups on both sides of the surprise billing issue are taking their arguments to the public through multi-million dollar advertising campaigns on TV, radio, and print media. The Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing, made up mostly of insurance companies, states that arbitration proposals will benefit private equity firms that own physician practices and drive up costs. A coalition of 14 consumer groups, that includes Families USA, the AFL-CIO, and patient advocacy groups, launched a campaign last week to urge Congress to pass legislation by the end of the year that would ban surprise medical billing for people with all types of insurance, do it in a way that contains costs, and make sure the protections are applied nationwide. To read more on the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing, click here, and for the Families USA groups, click here.