Surprise Billing or Balance Billing
Can AB 651 Survive Possible Legal Difficulties as California Strives to Protect Both Air Ambulances and Patients?
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher September 30, 2019
Updated 10/14/2019: Governor Newsom has signed AB 651, which will take effect January 1, 2020. There are few bills in the 2019 California Legislative cycle more supported by the Legislature than AB 651, which would reauthorize the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act (“Act”) and prohibit balance billing by air ambulances. To fully understand the impact and significance of AB 651, we will first examine the history and evolution of the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act, starting in 2010, to better appreciate the original intent of the Act. Second, we …
The Source Roundup: September 2019 Edition
Hayden Soria, Student Fellow September 3, 2019
Hello September! As we see cooler days slowly roll in, there are still many sizzling topics in this month’s health policy literature. In this Roundup, we take a dive into article and reports that discuss 1) the prevalence of surprise billing, 2) the effects of California’s AB 72 on provider networks, 3) increasing hospital prices, 4) hospital quality ratings, 4) increasing insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and 5) health plan profitability. Surprise Billing and Provider Networks Eric C. Sun, Michelle Mello, and Jasmin Moshfegh explore the current trends of …
The Lower Health Care Costs Act: A Bipartisan Federal Effort to Improve Competition in Healthcare Markets
Katie Gudiksen, Senior Health Policy Researcher June 21, 2019
The Lower Health Care Costs Act, released in May 2019 by Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray, addresses many inefficiencies in healthcare markets and has the potential to both increase competition and lower costs for healthcare services. The 195-page draft federal bill, also known as the Alexander-Murray Bill (S 1895), contains more than three dozen provisions designed to address health care costs. The bill is divided into five titles: 1) Ending Surprise Medical Bills, 2) Reducing the Prices of Prescription Drugs, 3) Improving Transparency in Health Care, 4) Improving Public …
The Source Roundup: March 2019 Edition
Leah S. Gray, Student Fellow March 1, 2019
Happy March! This month we take a look at articles that examine 1) state health system reform efforts, 2) protections against surprise medical bills, 3) effects of market concentration on cost and quality, and 4) ways to control rising costs for health care and pharmaceuticals. States are taking the lead in health system reform While the federal health policy debate has remained rather stagnant, states have stepped up protect their citizens from rising health care costs. North Carolina is poised to make rapid, unprecedented changes to its provider payment …
2019’s AB 1611 is California’s Latest Attempt in Its Long, Litigious History to Eliminate Balance Billing
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher February 28, 2019
This has happened before. In 2014, San Francisco General Hospital Medical Group acknowledged in a settlement with the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) that it had balance billed patients with Blue Shield PPO plans for emergency services between January 2009 and March 2014. The group claimed to have balance billed these patients because it did “not realize that Blue Shield of California PPO plans were subject to DMHC jurisdiction.” Because legislative and judicial authority prohibit balance billing of emergency services for enrollees that are part of a DMHC-regulated …
Surprise Balance Billing: The New Fight for Consumer Protection in Health Care
Leah S. Gray, Student Fellow October 22, 2018
A Texas high school teacher recently made headlines after getting a $108,951 bill when a heart attack sent him to an out-of-network hospital. The ambulance rushed Drew Calver to the nearest emergency center, which his insurance did not cover, leaving him with an astronomical surprise medical bill. Unfortunately, surprise medical bills are becoming a ubiquitous part of health care in America. The question is: why? Most people have insurance, but insurance doesn’t cover everything. So when Calver was treated at an out-of-network facility, his insurance paid only $55,840 towards the …