Surprise Billing Fix This Year? Not Likely.

HHS declared surprise medical billing to be a widespread and costly problem in the United States, and something that needs to be addressed since it has been highlighted during the Public Health Emergency, according to a report released by the department last week. While offering no solutions, the report gives a run down of the issues and the different policy options that Congress has worked on over the past year and a half. The bipartisan leaders of the Senate HELP, House Energy and Commerce, and House Education and Labor committees released joint statements endorsing action on surprise billing after the report was released and urging passage of their similar proposals. The Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, who has a competing proposal, is noticeably absent from the congressional statement. Click here for the HHS report, and here for the statement from the committees.