State Efforts to Protect Consumers from Balance Billing Continue, While Momentum Builds for Federal Action
Many Americans worry about receiving surprise medical bills. Most often, patients receive these unexpected balance bills from health care providers outside their plan’s network, after getting emergency care or medical procedures at in-network facilities.
In a new post on To the Point, Jack Hoadley, Kevin Lucia, and Maanasa Kona of Georgetown University explain that there is no federal law regulating the charges submitted by out-of-network providers. “After reviewing state laws that protect consumers from balance bills, the researchers found only nine states have laws meeting the researchers' standard for comprehensive protections.”
“A federal solution could offer a more comprehensive approach,” the authors say, “while giving states appropriate flexibility to seek a path fitting their particular market environments.”
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