As a greater number of insured and uninsured Americans are saddled with surprise medical bills, consumers and legislators alike are clamoring for solutions.
New York has a unique policy in place to manage the problem of surprise out-of-network medical bills that could provide a model for other states, according to the Wall Street Journal. Below are three things to know about New York's surprise bill policy.
1. Under the New York policy, patients can fill out a form authorizing a provider to bill their insurer for excess medical fees. With this form, patients hit with involuntary, out-of-network bills pay only the amount of their regular in-network rates. Providers bill the remaining out-of-network medical expenses to the payer.
2. In New York, emergency care patients are not held responsible for out-of-network surprise bills.
3. New York policy outlines an arbitration process between providers and insurers to determine who will pay surprise medical bills, removing payment liability from the patient.