ICYMI: No Surprises Act Takes Effect as Biden-Harris Administration Prevents Surprise Medical Bills and Lowers Health Care Costs

"One of the biggest consumer protections to pass in recent decades…" "Consumers can breathe a sigh of relief…" "Americans are set to have one less health care headache in 2022." "Will reduce private health plan premiums and lower the federal deficit by $17 billion over ten years."

On January 1, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration followed through on delivering the No Surprises Act, a groundbreaking consumer protection law that prevents surprise medical bills that burden working families and helps lower health care costs. Under new federal protections, patients with private insurance who receive emergency care out-of-network, or care at an in-network hospital but from a provider not covered by their insurance, can only be charged the in-network rate. Thanks to the bipartisan legislation the Biden-Harris Administration is implementing, patients can now seek health care in times of critical need with the peace of mind that doing so will not result in a large, surprise medical bill. In addition to protecting millions of Americans, these protections will further the Biden-Harris Administration's work to promote competition in health care and other sectors of the American economy to help lower health care costs even more.

See below for excerpts of the law's coverage:

The Hill: Fulfilling the promise of the No Surprises Act
[Elizabeth Mitchell and Frederick Isasi, 1/3/22]

"Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office found that the No Surprises Act will reduce private health plan premiums and lower the federal deficit by $17 billion over ten years."

Forbes: The No Surprises Act Took Effect January 1; Here's What It Means For Your Medical Bills
[Deb Gordon, 1/3/22]

"One in five Americans has received a surprise medical bill from an emergency department visit; nearly as many have gotten unexpected bills from nonemergency hospital stays. These bills are more than a nuisance for many; they can cause anxiety and financial hardship. Two out of three Americans say they worry about being able to afford unexpected medical bills and nearly half can't afford to pay surprise bills in full. Now, many surprise medical bills are poised to become a thing of the past, thanks to the No Surprises Act, which took effect on January 1, 2022."

CBS Baltimore: 'No Surprises Act' Goes In Effect As Patients Receive Protections From Surprise Medical Bills
[1/3/22]

"Surprise billing occurs when a patient ends up visiting a hospital that outside of their health insurance plan, through no fault of their own. Some of the services covered under the act include emergency medicine, anesthesia, pathology, radiology, laboratory, neonatology, assistant surgeon, hospitalist and intensivist services. The bill will also protect those being treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center."

The Advocate: New law supported by Bill Cassidy provides protection against surprise medical bills
[Mark Ballard, 1/3/22]

"These surprise bills, which can run into the thousands of dollars, most often pop-up when the patient has no ability to select the emergency room, treating physicians, or ambulance providers. Sometimes even when receiving planned care, the patient inadvertently is treated by a physician, such as an anesthesiologist or radiologist, who isn't part of the insurer's network."

NPR's All Things Considered: Law aiming to protect consumers against surprise medical bills takes effect
[Adrian Florido, 1/2/22]

"[Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News reporter]: 'Well, under the law, basically, the patient is taken out of the middle of these disputes. So the patient is only going to pay the deductible and the co-payments that they would have had, had their care been in-network. Then the law says insurers and the medical providers have to work it out between themselves, what the actual amounts paid will be.'"

Stat News: The No Surprises Act: Beyond the emergency department, a silver lining of patient engagement
[Stacy Bratcher, 1/2/22]

"Health care is one of the only purchases people make without knowing the cost up front. Until recently … people needing care had virtually no way of knowing their expected out-of-pocket costs before deciding on care and often received unexpected expensive medical bills after the fact. With the No Surprises Act, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2022, health care providers have an opportunity to fix this and build a closer, more trusting relationship with their patients in the process."

FOX13 Seattle: No Surprise Act: New law preventing unexpected medical bills takes effect Jan. 1
[Chris Williams, 1/1/22]

"Before the ban on surprise billing, patients usually had to take the initiative themselves to work out unexpected charges. In many cases, the hospital or doctor would go back and forth with the insurance company until they reached an agreement. But there was no guarantee that would happen, and patients were at risk of being placed into collection proceedings in situations they had no control over. A key part of the new system spells out a resolution process that hospitals, doctors and insurers will use to haggle over fees, without dragging patients into it."

Axios: Many surprise medical bills are now illegal
[Bob Herman, 1/1/22]

"Consumers can breathe a sigh of relief because, in many scenarios, they should no longer face unexpected charges from doctors who are not in their insurance networks … The law will save a lot of patients from financial ruin."

New York Times: A New Ban on Surprise Medical Bills Starts Today
[Margot Sanger-Katz, 1/1/22]

"'This is such an important consumer victory because it is going to protect consumers from an egregious and pervasive billing practice that has just grown over the years,' said Patricia Kelmar, the health care campaigns director at the consumer group U.S. PIRG."

CNBC: Starting Jan. 1, emergency rooms can't surprise you with unexpected bills—here's how to protect yourself
[Mike Winters, 12/29/21]

"This legislation will ban most forms of surprise billing, or balance billing, in which a person unknowingly gets medical care by a provider outside their private insurer's network, even when visiting an in-network facility. It's a common scenario that happens in about 1 in 5 emergency room visits."

CNN: Patients won't have to fear as many surprise medical bills come January
[Tami Luhby, 12/28/21]

"Americans are set to have one less health care headache in 2022. The No Surprises Act … will apply to about 10 million surprise bills a year, according to federal estimates … 'The No Surprises Act is really one of the biggest consumer protections to pass in recent decades,' said Loren Adler, assistant director of the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy."