Families Need Congress to Stop Surprise Medical Bills Now

For far too long, families have face unaffordable medical costs due to “surprise billing.” Surprise billing, also called surprise out-of-network balance billing, is a common problem when, through no fault of their own, families receive medical treatment from an out-of-network provider. The surprise comes in the form of doctor bills for the difference between what a provider charges and what the insurer pays that provider.

Congress is currently considering legislation to address this problem for families all over the country. This piece describes the legislation under consideration in Congress and Families USA’s recommendations for a Congressional fix to this problem.

Families USA believes surprise bill legislation should reflect two core principles: 1) protect consumers from surprise bills and 2) hold down overall health care costs. In this piece we provide recommendations for how federal legislation should achieve these principles and urge Congress to pass legislation to stop surprise medical bills this year.

• Read the analysis
• Read a letter from Families USA and national and state partners urging Congress to enact surprise bill legislation in 2019
• Read Families USA Executive Director Frederick Isasi’s Testimony on Surprise Bills to the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions