Stop Surprise Medical Bills
Despite the success of the No Surprises Act, certain private equity-backed providers and arbitration middlemen are systematically manipulating the law’s arbitration process — known as independent dispute resolution (IDR) — to extract maximum payments from employers and patients. This ongoing misuse and abuse of the process—continued surges in arbitration filings, sky-high final payments that overwhelmingly favor providers, and growing use of third-party IDR firms—is raising alarms about the consequences for consumer premiums and health care affordability.
Our Mission
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- Protect patients and families from surprise medical bills sent by out-of-network providers.
- Maintain fair and equitable payments for providers with a benchmark standard based on local, competitive market-based rates.
- 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
Surprise medical billing—also known as “balance billing”—made it harder for patients to afford necessary medical care, often when they least expect it. Now, with patient protections in place, certain private equity-backed providers and profit-enhancing middlemen are using the arbitration process as a business model to extract profits. This aggressive, profit-driven use of the arbitration process not only inflates costs, but it also undermines the intended goals of the No Surprises Act: to make care more affordable and accessible for patients.
Role of Private Equity
The Solution
Everyone in America deserves affordable, high-quality health coverage and care. Surprise medical bills undermine that promise, threatening the health and financial stability of millions of patients each year. Together, we must ensure patients are protected from excessive costs and empowered to make informed choices.
Latest News
New National Poll Shows Overwhelming Majority of Voters Want Congress To Take Action on Surprise Medical Bills, Lower Costs for Patients
Washington, D.C. – After private equity firms blocked critical surprise billing protections for American patients last year, the overwhelming majority of voters — roughly 90 percent — want Congress to pass legislation that would protect more than 100 million Americans...
Don’t Be Fooled By Claims About ‘Fair IDR’
Just when Congress is considering taking decisive action to protect patients from surprise medical bills, should we be surprised that those who stand to benefit from unfairly charging consumers are pushing to keep the status quo? Action4Health is the latest group to...
In New Advertising Campaign, Coalition Mobilizes Patients & Allies Around Push For Surprise Billing Reforms In End-of-Year Legislation
Washington, D.C. – With millions of patients still facing the threat and fear of a surprise medical bill from out-of-network providers, the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing launched a new six-figure advertising and advocacy campaign to make sure Congress...
Take Action
Tell Washington it’s time to protect patients from surprise and unfair medical bills.