Topic: Trump-era law on surprise medical bills advances under Biden
The Biden administration on Thursday began putting in place consumer protections against “surprise” medical bills enacted in bipartisan legislation signed last year by former President Donald Trump.
Regulations jointly issued by four federal agencies spell out protections for insured patients against surprise billing in medical emergencies, สล็อตpg and unexpected charges from out-of-network doctors at an in-network facility. Out-of-network clinicians and service providers would also be barred from billing patients for the difference between their charges and what insurance paid.
Surprise medical bills are a common and frustrating problem for people with health insurance, even if they thought they were protected. Charges that can run from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars come from doctors and hospitals outside the network of a patient's health insurance plan. It's estimated that about 1 in 5 emergency visits and 1 in 6 inpatient admissions triggers a surprise bill.
Thursday's action signaled that the Biden administration is committed to having the new protections in place for consumers by Jan. 1, as the law requires. Work continues on another major piece of the new framework, a process to resolve billing disputes between insurers and medical providers without dragging patients into them.
It's a rare demonstration of bipartisanship on health care, one of the most politically polarized issues of the past decade, as Republicans repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to repeal the Obama-era Affordable Care Act.