(Washington, D.C.) - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement in response to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issuing an interim final rule implementing legislation the Members passed to ban surprise billing-a practice that leaves patients on the hook for unexpected, exorbitant health care bills for out-of-network care.
“No one should be afraid the care they need will come with a financially devastating surprise medical bill they can’t afford. We passed the No Surprises Act to protect patients from exorbitant surprise bills for unexpected, out-of-network health care, and we are pleased to see the Biden Administration working hard to make good on that promise. Today’s rule implements the No Surprises Act just as we intended and is a significant new protection for families across the country that will save countless patients from being forced to foot the bill for care they thought was covered by their insurance. It establishes a fair payment resolution process between providers and insurers while finally taking patients out of the middle."
Senator Murray and Congressman Pallone were among the key leaders in passing the No Surprises Act in 2020. HHS has made progress toward implementation of the law by issuing two rules earlier this year. Today’s rule provides more detail on implementation of the ban on surprise medical bills and outlines a fair independent dispute resolution for providers and insurers to settle out-of-network disputes.
