National Surprise Medical Billing proposal is an improvement.
CHICAGO – The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is pleased that a number of ASA’s priorities were addressed in the most recent COVID-19 stimulus bill; some improvements to the final surprise medical bill provisions and partial relief from the previous draconian Medicare cuts scheduled for January 1, 2021.
“I believe our specialty will be better off in 2021 than was initially anticipated,” said ASA President Beverly K. Philip, M.D., FACA, FASA. “However, the surprise medical bill provisions and the Medicare payment cut relief remain far less than ideal. ASA remains committed to working vigorously on these issues, to ensure that frontline anesthesiologists are in no way disadvantaged.”
Regarding Surprise Medical Bills, ASA worked with other physician stakeholders to secure important additional improvements into the bill that were not included in the December 11, “No Surprises Act” draft proposal, including:
- An explicit prohibition on health insurance companies presenting artificially low Medicare, Medicaid and public payer rates to an arbiter as part of the independent dispute resolution (IDR) system.
- Elimination of unreasonable timelines and other requirements related to patient notification and billing requirements.
- Enhanced physician access to the IDR process by adding clarity to the “90 days cooling-off period”
The language in this bill are improvements to earlier proposals, which included aggressive government rate-setting, administrative burdens on small and medium sized practices, and inaccessible and insurer-friendly dispute resolution processes.
Surprise Medical Billing Legislation
The surprise medical bill issue is at a key juncture in Congress. The insurance industry is lobbying aggressively for a solution that is based on an artificially low “benchmark payment” to physicians set by and controlled by local insurance companies. In contrast, ASA is working with our coalition of medical specialty organizations in support of a payment mechanism based on a market-based interim or automatic payment to physicians and a fair appeals or arbitration “backstop” model to contest unfair insurance practices. Only one side will prevail. It must be medicine, not insurance companies. What should you do to make your voice heard? Do the following things:
- It is critical for you to continue to Call Your Representative and Call your Senators now while Congress is still in session. To find out if your representative is currently a cosponsor of H.R. 3502, the “Ruiz-Roe” bill, please click here.
- Once you have made your phone calls, Send an Email to your Representatives and Senators. As a reminder, you can text SurpriseBillsEngage to 855-465-8659 to launch this activity.
- Schedule an August Recess Meeting: Lawmakers return home to their districts during August recess and that is a great time to ask for a meeting or invite them for a site visit. Email grassroots@asahq.org for guidance and support.
- Share Out of the Middle: ASA along with other medical specialties have partnered up to create outofthemiddle.org. This information to educate the public about this issue and why H.R. 3502 is the right solution to surprise medical bills. ASA has created outreach materials, sample social media posts, and FAQs to share with your family and friends.
