New Group Pushes Surprise Billing Solutions

America's Health Insurance Plans, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the National Association of Health Underwriters, and America's Physician Groups among others announced the formation last week of the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing. Among their proposals would be for Congress to require set rates for out-of-network services and mandate hospitals declare in or out of network status of physicians for patients. The coalition estimates that reforms like rate setting and offering patient protections for out-of-network emergency care could save more than $25 billion over the next decade. To read the "solutions" from the newly formed group, click here.

• With a common, bi-partisan consensus that surprise medical billing is a problem, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee agreed to do something but could not agree on what - price setting, network adequacy, arbitration, benchmark payments, click here.
• AHA weighed in on the Senate bi-partisan bill, "Stopping the Outrageous Practice of Surprise Medical Bills" (S. 1531), saying they support the work of the co-sponsors but outline concerns with the bill, click here.
• A recent GAO Report found that about 2/3 of air ambulance transports for patients with private insurance were out-of-network leading to an average $10,000 "surprise bill," click here.