Big Insurance is trying to gut the No Surprises Act

Fourteen years ago, Claudia Knafo, a concert pianist in New York, was surprised by a $101,000 medical bill for spinal surgery she needed to keep working. But rather than accept it and pay the amount, she set off a revolution that culminated in the federal government passing the landmark 2020 No Surprises Act, to protect Americans from bombshell unexpected health care bills.

Before it was passed, about 41 percent of people received unexpected out-of-network bills, and nearly one in five emergency room visits resulted in a surprise bill. The Congressional Budget Office recently concluded, “Evidence suggests that the No Surprises Act is protecting patients from surprise bills.” It also found that research shows for some services “inflation-adjusted prices for in- and out-of-network care have decreased in recent years.”

Despite this, the major health insurance carriers have launched a coordinated legal and media campaign to undermine the act. The House and Senate should investigate this attempt to gut their signature patient protection law.

As one commentator put it recently, “Major insurance conglomerates — including UnitedHealthcare entities, Elevance/Anthem affiliates and Blue Cross Blue Shield plans — have launched a coordinated series of federal lawsuits against providers, hospitals, and revenue-cycle vendors.”

These suits often use the same language and allegations, assert many of the same flawed arguments, and — given the timing — indicate a synchronized industry-wide effort to undermine and destroy important patient protections.

Big Health Insurance also launched a concerted and coordinated media........

© The Hill