Lawmakers Hit Impasse on No Surprises Act Fixes as Millions of Arbitration Claims Fuel Doctor-Insurer Fight
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Aug 3
Lawmakers Hit Impasse on No Surprises Act Fixes as Millions of Arbitration Claims Fuel Doctor-Insurer Fight
1 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Aug 3
Summary
Bipartisan efforts to revise the No Surprises Act have stalled as lawmakers run into fierce opposition from both doctors and insurers over how to fix the law’s dispute system.
Millions of out-of-network arbitration claims have flooded that process far beyond expectations, with insurers saying some awards have become excessively large and calling the surge a "gold rush."
Doctors counter that insurers are failing to pay some arbitration awards and depressing in-network rates, prompting a bill from Reps. Greg Murphy and Raul Ruiz to raise penalties for nonpayment.
Insurers say that proposal, backed by physician groups including the AMA, does not curb abuse of arbitration enough; an industry coalition began an ad campaign in July seeking tighter guardrails on ineligible claims.
The deadlock leaves Congress struggling to amend a 2020 law that ended surprise out-of-network bills for patients, even though both parties say the problem itself needs fixing.