Top House Dem unveils surprise medical billing overhaul

New legislation from Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, aims to overhaul a key part of a law that protects patients from surprise medical bills. 

The new bill aims to fix what Pallone and critics say is the flawed dispute resolution system between insurers and providers.  

The No Surprises Act, which Pallone helped write, established an arbitration process between health care providers and payers when there is a payment dispute. The law allows providers to file for arbitration, where they are able to make a case for much higher payments than they could otherwise receive from health plans. 

While the law keeps patients from receiving a surprise bill from an out-of-network provider, the over-inflated payments get passed to them anyway through higher premiums or fewer benefits.

According to Pallone, a small number of organizations, mostly backed by private equity firms — which are buying up medical practices like anesthesiology, radiology and emergency rooms — account for the majority........

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