AMA expected to file comments on No Surprises Act regulation next week
On Dec. 27, the No Surprises Act (NSA) was signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. These provisions were intended to address unexpected gaps in insurance coverage that result in “surprise medical bills” when patients unknowingly obtain medical services from physicians and other providers outside their health insurance network.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Treasury (the Departments) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) filed two Interim Final Rules (IFRs) to implement provisions of the NSA. The AMA already filed its comments on IFR part I (PDF), and is filing its comments on IFR part II next week. A letter (PDF) signed by more than 100 physician organizations was also recently sent to the Departments urging changes to problematic provisions in the IFR Part II that will undercut contract negotiations between payers and physicians and narrow provider networks.
Visit the AMA web page on surprise medical billing for additional details.
