Surprise Medical Billing

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is committed to working with policymakers to identify workable solutions that protect patients from surprise bills in certain scenarios. And key leaders in Congress and the Administration want our input. Hospitals and health systems need to be part of shaping…
America’s hospitals and health systems are committed to protecting patients from “surprise bills” and support a federal legislative solution to do so. These types of bills may occur when a patient receives care from an out-of-network provider or when their health plan fails to pay for covered…
Surprise bills can cause patients stress and financial burden at a time of particular vulnerability: when they are in need of medical care. Patients are at risk of incurring such bills during emergencies, as well as when they schedule care at an in-network facility without knowing the network…
The last thing a patient should worry about in a health crisis is an unanticipated medical bill that unintentionally impacts their out-of-pocket costs … and undermines the trust and confidence that patients have in their caregivers.
We’re 11 days into 2019 … we’ve returned to a divided government …and the partial government shutdown continues.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 21, 2018) – Below is a joint letter sent to Congress today from American Hospital Association President and CEO Rick Pollack and the Federation of American Hospitals President and CEO Chip Kahn on the issue of surprise billing:  
The AHA and Federation of American Hospitals “strongly believe that any public policy solution to resolve surprise bills must protect patients by prohibiting balance billing and by limiting patients’ cost-sharing to an in-network amount,” the organizations today told members of Congress.
The AHA and Federation of American Hospitals “strongly believe that any public policy solution to resolve surprise bills must protect patients by prohibiting balance billing and by limiting patients’ cost-sharing to an in-network amount,” the organizations Dec. 21 told members of Congress.
Nine health insurance, employer and consumer organizations today proposed guiding principles for federal legislative action to protect patients from surprise medical bills.