New federal law puts an end to most 'surprise' medical bills - KOMO News
You have health insurance, so when you needed to go to the hospital, you chose an in-network facility and assumed everything was good.
After you got home, you find out that one (or more) of the doctors who treated you was not in network, and your insurance company wants you to pay the difference – what’s sometimes called “balanced billing.”
The federal No Surprises Act, which took effect in January, will protect against such nasty surprises.
“The No Surprises Act is an important consumer protection that requires very little actually of the consumer,” said Patricia Kumar with U.S. PIRG, a non-profit consumer advocacy group.
Under the new law, providers cannot send you a surprise bill in three situations.
“Basically, you will not get a surprise bill from an out-of-network provider, from an air ambulance transportation, or from emergency services,” Kumar explained. “Or in the situation where you've done everything right – you've gone to your in-network hospital and you've chosen your in-network physician – none of the other charges from that hospital stay will be able to be charged as a balance bill.”
Washington state residents are protected from surprise billing for a broader set of health services, including behavioral health emergencies treated outside of a hospital emergency room and the services of mobile crisis response teams.
State law also prohibits health insurers or medical providers from asking a patient to waive these critical protections.
If you think you’ve been unfairly billed for procedures or providers that should have been covered by your health insurance, file a complaint with the Washington State Insurance Commissioner’s Office.
source: https://komonews.com/news/consumer/new-federal-law-puts-an-end-to-most-surprise-medical-bills
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