Washington, D.C. – The Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing issued the following statement in response to the final regulation from the Biden Administration implementing important provisions of the bipartisan No Surprises Act.
“The No Surprises Act prevented two million surprise bills in just the first two months of 2022. The Biden Administration and bipartisan leaders of Congress have worked together to protect patients from predatory, private-equity business models. While provider-backed litigation could have further undercut those efforts, the new final rule takes a thoughtful approach that attempts to keep fair, local-market payments at the center of arbitration decisions and requires important transparency throughout the arbitration process.
“Providers can no longer game the system through surprise bills, but new data from the Administration unfortunately shows that too many are trying to exploit new vulnerabilities through arbitration. Abusing arbitration – as we’ve seen with a flood of disputes already filed – will undoubtedly raise health care costs for hardworking families and consumers. We are concerned that changes to how arbitration entities are directed to consider various factors in making their determinations may lead to an inefficient and ineffective arbitration process. We are hopeful that as this law is implemented, arbitration will be used sparingly and as a backstop and that lower costs for patients remain the priority. We encourage the Administration to continue to monitor vigilantly and report on the use of arbitration and its outcomes to ensure the No Surprises Act lowers health care costs as intended.”
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