The federal surprise-billing debate in Congress has gotten more complicated, after U.S. House Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, rejected a committee leader's proposed path forward on legislation to address the issue, according to The Hill.
Federal lawmakers have been considering proposals to end surprise medical bills that occur after patients unintentionally receive out-of-network care in emergency situations or at in-network hospitals.
Insurance companies, hospitals and physicians agree that patients should not be on the hook for surprise out-of-network charges but haven't come up with a way to resolve payment disputes between insurance companies and physicians once the patient is protected.
In a letter sent to Democrat House Ways and Means Committee members and obtained by The Hill, committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., proposed letting federal officials and key healthcare stakeholders figure it all out.
Mr. Neal proposed that HHS, the U.S. Labor and Treasury department and other interested parties come up with standards for rates for surprise bills and decide "how and if dispute resolution should be included, within certain predefined parameters that ensure healthcare costs will not increase from the process."
He said in his letter that he was optimistic that Mr. Brady, the lead Republican on the committee, would back his idea. But Mr. Brady has rejected the proposal, which was criticized even by some Democrats, The Hill reported.
"I think we ought to go back to the drawing board rather than pursue that," Mr. Brady told reporters when asked about Mr. Neal's proposal.
Mr. Neal's proposal is only one among others in Congress. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has bipartisan surprise-billing legislation, which passed out of the committee July 17.
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