Twenty percent of adults said they or a family member has received a surprise medical bill since the No Surprises Act went into effect Jan. 1 according to a Morning Consultant report released July 7.
Morning Consultant conducted a survey among a representative sample of 2,210 U.S. adults between June 22-24, according to the report.
Five things to know:
1. Those who received unexpected bills were mostly likely to get them for in-network lab work that was sent to an out-of-network lab for assessment, which is covered under the No Surprises Act, or for testing or procedures not covered by insurance, also not covered by the act.
2. The cost was more than $1,000 for 22 percent of those who received a surprise bill.
3. Sixty-three percent of adults said they would be confident that they could address a surprise bill that they believed to be illegal with a provider or insurer. That includes 61 percent of those who received unexpected bills in the past.
4. Seventy-one percent said they're confident of primary care treatment costs up front, compared to 45 percent for emergency room charges.
5. Sixteen percent of adults said they've seen, read or heard something about the No Surprises Act.