Surprise Medical Billing
Congress should pass legislation that protects patients from surprise medical bills and rejects rate setting, hospital leaders said today at an AHA briefing on Capitol Hill.
Members of Congress are in their home districts and states for the next two weeks, and it is an excellent opportunity to talk with your lawmakers about important issues they will consider when they return to Washington, D.C.
Next week, CBS News is slated to air a three-part series called 鈥淢edical Price Roulette,鈥 exploring medical costs, including hospital prices. The series is scheduled to run Monday, Sept. 23, through Wednesday, Sept. 25, on both CBS This Morning and CBS Evening News (watch a preview of the series).
The AHA today commented on provisions related to surprise medical billing legislation that the House Education and Labor Committee could consider soon.
AHA comments on provisions of surprise medical billing legislation passed in July by the Energy and Commerce Committee, as we understand your Committee may be interested in considering a similar approach.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao last week named a committee to advise Congress and the departments of Health and Human Services and Transportation on issues relating to air ambulance services and patient billing.
With Congress back in town and a full slate of health care issues on its agenda, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack, Executive Vice President Tom Nickels and Senior Associate Director of Federal Relations Priscilla Ross hosted a special AHA Town Hall webcast live from the AHA鈥檚 Advocacy Day in鈥
Some policymakers have expressed interest in 鈥渘etwork matching鈥 as a solution to surprise medical bills. To date, the only proposal defining such an approach, which was ultimately rejected, was included in the discussion draft of the Senate HELP Committee鈥檚 鈥淟ower Health Care Costs Act.鈥
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee June 19 introduced the Lower Health Care Costs Act (S.1895), legislation to prevent surprise medical bills, reduce prescription drug prices, improve transparency in health care, invest in public health and improve health information鈥
The House Energy and Commerce Committee in July passed legislation, The No Surprises Act (H.R. 2328), to prevent surprise medical bills.
AHA Ask: Policymakers should focus on assisting rural hospitals in their negotiations with payers and providing the incentives and resources needed to maintain鈥