Stop Surprise Medical Bills
Millions of Americans receive a surprise medical bill every year, bankrupting families and raising health care costs for everyone, including employers and taxpayers.
Our Mission
Members of the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing, which represent accountable care providers, leading employer groups, and health insurance providers and the tens of millions of people they employ and serve each day, support meaningful solutions to end surprise medical billing that would:
- Protect patients and families from surprise medical bills sent by out-of-network providers.
- Maintain fair and equitable payments for providers with a federal benchmark standard.
- Help reduce consumers’ health insurance premiums and taxpayers’ costs by avoiding an arbitration process that adds unnecessary cost, delay and bureaucracy to the health system and is particularly harmful for smaller companies.
The Problem
Millions of patients face surprise medical bills they did not expect at prices they cannot afford. While the majority of doctors and providers do their best to deliver fair, affordable care for patients and their families, there is a small but significant number of doctors and hospitals responsible for the vast majority of surprise billing.
When clinical specialists choose not to participate in health insurance providers’ networks – or if they do not meet the standards for inclusion – they often demand a blank check from patients for their services. The consequences are significant: financial stress, fighting a complicated, confusing bureaucracy, harassed by collection agencies, and often legal action for non-payment. And when a health insurance provider steps in on a patient’s behalf to cover the surprise medical bill, it raises premiums for everyone else
The Solution
Any real solution to surprise medical bills must protect patients when they need emergency care and establish a federal benchmark to stop abuse of the system by some providers. This benchmark would allow consumers to benefit from negotiated in-network rates and ensure fair and equitable treatment for health care providers, consumers, employers and taxpayers.
News
Coalition Statement on Senate HELP Proposal to Protect Patients from Excessive Surprise Billing Charges
Following the release of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) bipartisan legislative package to end surprise billing, the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing issued the following statement
read moreCoalition Statement on Senate HELP Committee Hearing on the Lower Health Care Costs Act
JUNE 18, WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ahead of the of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) hearing on the bipartisan Lower Health Care Costs Act, the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing issued the following statement: "Surprise...
read moreDon’t Let Arbitration Get in the Way of Ending Surprise Medical Bills
We all agree that ending the unfair practice of “surprise billing” needs to be an urgent priority for Congressional leaders and the Trump administration. For too long, too many patients have been saddled with medical bills they didn’t expect at prices they can’t...
read moreTake Action
Tell Washington it’s time to protect patients from surprise and unfair medical bills.