Private equity and hedge-fund-backed organizations have an active role in groups that have organized to lobby and put out ads related to surprise-billing legislative efforts in Congress, according to Kaiser Health News.
Lawmakers are considering various federal proposals to address surprise medical bills that occur after they unintentionally receive out-of-network care in emergency situations or at in-network hospitals. One idea under consideration is a dispute resolution process, such as arbitration, for out-of-network payments between providers and insurance companies. A benchmarking approach for these out-of-network payments is also under consideration.
Groups supporting the benchmarking approach are the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing, which comprises employers and insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Association of Health Insurance Plans and ERIC, which represents large employers, according to KHN.
Out of the Middle, Physicians for Fair Coverage, SOAR and Doctor Patient Unity are some of the groups in support of arbitration. The nonprofit news service reported that while these groups purportedly have physician and hospital members, private equity and hedge-fund-backed organizations are active in them.
Physicians for Fair Coverage, which spent $145,000 on lobbying on the surprise medical bills issue, is one example noted by KHN, which cites disclosures from the Center for Responsive Politics. According to the news service, that group comprises ApolloMD, Radiology Partners, US Acute Care Solutions, US Radiology Specialists and US Anesthesia partners, all staffing firms partially owned by investment firms.
KHN also noted that Out of the Middle is made up of the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Society of Anesthesiologists and other trade organizations for specialty physicians.
Read the full KHN report here.
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