Washington, D.C. – Following the announcement on the latest Congressional surprise billing agreement, the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing issued the following statement:

“Arbitration is not a solution to the surprise billing crisis. It’s a gift to private equity firms that have pushed arbitration from the very beginning in order to preserve their business model at the expense of American consumers.”

“As it stands, this bill gives private equity-backed and out-of-network specialists even greater incentive to charge higher prices that patients, employers and the American taxpayer will be on the hook for – a reality that is already happening in states, like Texas, New York and New Jersey. Worse, arbitration erodes the fundamental consumer protections that keep patients’ premiums stable. Our members strongly oppose arbitration in any form and urge policymakers not to move forward with this egregious policy.”