House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) is floating a new plan to reach an agreement on ways to address so-called “surprise” medical bills that would rely heavily on the Trump administration and industry stakeholders, according to a letter Neal sent Friday to Democratic lawmakers that was obtained by The Hill.
Background
Federal lawmakers, insurers, and providers have been divided on how to resolve the unexpected bills patients receive after being treated by out-of-network providers. Insurers have called on lawmakers to approve a measure that would establish a benchmark payment rate for out-of-network bills, but hospital groups have pushed for an arbitration process that insurers and providers could use to settle payment disputes. Lobbying efforts from providers have stalled negotiations on legislation to address surprise medical bills, according to The Hill.
Proposal details
However, Neal’s proposal aims to move negotiations on legislation to address surprise bills forward by establishing a committee made up of administration officials and industry stakeholders to develop regulations to resolve surprise medical bills.
Under Neal’s proposal, the committee would include providers, insurers, and officials from HHS, the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of the Treasury (DOT). The group would be tasked with developing recommendations for standards the federal government could use to establish payment rates for out-of-network bills. The committee also would determine whether to recommend a dispute resolution process and define standards for the process to ensure it does not increase health care costs.
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The committee then would send their recommendations to the secretaries of HHS, DOL, and DOT, who would use the recommendations to propose rulemaking, which would be open to public comments.
Date: October 16, 2019
Source: Advisory
