New York State Health Foundation Publishes Review of NY State Laws Regarding Surprise Bills
Bipartisan support is swelling for a federal fix to combat "surprise" bills, which often occur when patients receive out-of-network care in an emergency or don't realize a specialist isn't covered by their insurer.
The New York State Health Foundation on Monday published a review of the state's law regarding surprise bills, implemented in 2015, to highlight its successes and limitations.
Under the law, patients are responsible for their in-network payment only in cases when they did not give written consent to be treated by an out-of-network provider, including in emergencies. The law also created a dispute-resolution process for providers and insurers to enter binding arbitration over bills.
The law seems to have had its intended effect. The percentage of out-of-network emergency department services billed dropped from 20.1% in 2013 to 6.4% in 2015, according to a study from researchers at Yale University cited in the report...