AMA reacts to subcommittee passage of surprise billing legislation

Statement Attributable to:
Patrice A. Harris MD., MA
President, American Medical Association

“While the AMA supports the goal of protecting patients from payment disputes, further modifications are needed to protect patient access to care in rural areas and other underserved populations. Reps. Raul Ruiz, M.D., (D-Calif.) and Larry Bucshon, M.D.,(R-Ind.) led a  bipartisan call  to address concerns  about the current imbalanced rate-setting scheme and are pressing for changes to make it more fair before the full committee markup next week. Other subcommittee members expressing concerns about the potential harm to access for rural and underserved populations included Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), John Shimkus (R-Ill.), G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), Richard Hudson, (R-N.C.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.).