Surprise Medical Bills: A Call to Congress for Action

IN A NUTSHELL:

• Letter sent to Congress

• Led by American Medical Association

• Seeks to hold patients harmless to excessive costs

Written by Ayan Monpara, MD

Groups representing hundreds of thousands of physicians have asked Congress to find a balanced approach to surprise medical bill legislation that would hold patients harmless for excessive costs while not giving more market power to insurers.

The letter, led by the American Medical Association and signed by 110 other medical societies, points out that the legislation, if tilted toward insurers, could cause staffing shortages in rural areas and other underserved communities.

The letter calls for an efficient, independent dispute resolution process to incentivize health insurers to make fair payments for out-of-network care that is provided to their customers. The letter also calls for strong network adequacy requirements so that patients are not routinely pushed toward care that is out of network.