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Administrative Advocacy Toolkit: No Surprises Act and Hospital Price Transparency

08.18.2021

As Congress continues to negotiate the inclusion of critical health provisions in the next recovery package, we must not lose sight of important regulations that the Biden Administration is working to finalize in the coming months. In September, advocates have a key opportunity to make our concerns heard and provide recommendations through the federal comments process.

The first interim final rule on the No Surprises Act takes a positive step towards ensuring consumers are meaningfully protected from surprise medical bills. Moreover, the CY2022 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule calls out hospitals’ failure to comply with the new rules requiring hospital systems to publicly post their health care prices online for public use and proposes additional monetary penalties. Join Families USA and partners in elevating our voices to guarantee consumer protections from surprise bills and to achieve hospital price transparency!

We’ve created a set of tools for you to use to amplify your voice, and give direct feedback to the federal agencies on consumer protections from surprise medical bills and hospital price transparency.

This toolkit includes the following resources:

  • Template comments
  • Email copy to share with partner networks and encourage them to submit comments
  • Sample social media posts to elevate key messages to partners, the media, and the administration
  • Social media graphics to amplify the importance of surprise billing protections and hospital price transparency

Table of Contents: No Surprises Act

  1. Template Comments
  2. Email Copy for partners
  3. Sample Social
  4. Storyteller graphics

Table of Contents: Hospital Price Transparency

  1. Template Comments
  2. Email Copy for partners
  3. Sample Social
  4. Polling graphics

 

NO SURPRISES ACT

Template Comments:

  • Template Comments can be found at this link.
  • Comments are due Tuesday, September 7th and you can submit them through the regulations.gov portal at this link.

Email Copy for Partners:

SUBJECT: Take Action to Protect Consumers from Surprise Medical Bills!

Hi [First name of partner],

I hope you’re well! I’m reaching out to invite [their organization] to join [your organization’s name] in ensuring effective implementation of federal surprise billing protections. Comments are due September 7th COB, and you can submit them through the regulations.gov portal at this link.

The No Surprises Act will finally enact federal consumer protections from surprise billing, which for decades has left families on the hook for egregious bills they did not plan for and are often unable to pay. On July 1, the Biden Administration issued Part I of their rulemaking through an interim final rule (IFR) to implement key parts of the law. It is critical for consumer advocates to make their voices heard in highlighting the areas where the IFR is strong and areas where the rule needs to go further.

You can find a template comment letter from Families USA along with additional resources to amplify the importance of surprise billing protections at this link: [INSERT LINK TO TOOLKIT]

We’d love for [their organization] to join this effort. Please reach out to me at [your email] if you have any questions.

Thank you for your partnership.

Best,

[Your name]

Sample Social:

  • The #NoSurprisesAct was landmark legislation, but implementation matters. We’re working to ensure the law is implemented appropriately and meaningfully protects consumers from #surprisemedicalbills. 
  • Congress advanced the interest of America’s families in ending #SurpriseMedicalBills with the #NoSurprisesAct. Now we work to ensure that the protections are comprehensive and that the implementation of this law is done with consumers in mind. https://familiesusa.org/resources/administrative-advocacy-toolkit-no-surprises-act-and-hospital-price-transparency/ 
  • The #NoSurprisesAct is a great step towards ensuring people are protected from #SurpriseMedicalBills. In rulemaking, the admin MUST ensure consumers have an equitable and transparent process for filing complaints and must include access to assistance to navigate the new protections.
  • Maryanna had an accident while running & was taken to an out-of-network hospital. When the bills began coming in, she was “in total shock.” Just one of the bills was over $81,000 and insurance barely covered anything. With the #NoSurprisesAct, this can be a thing of the past. -insert Maryanna’s graphic-
  • Alexis’ daughter was severely injured while skiing and had to be airlifted off the slopes. At home, the bill they thought their insurance would cover awaited them: $65K. With the proper enacting of the #NoSurprisesAct, parents like Alexis can focus on their child’s recovery. -insert Alexis’ graphic-
  • Nicki went to the ER for a health emergency & got stuck with a $10K bill. Her story is familiar to countless consumers who have been hit by a #surprisemedicalbill. If the #NoSurprisesAct is properly implemented, no one will have to endure what Nicki did! -insert Nicki’s graphic-
  • While Joclyn was home and recovering from two separate surgeries to implant devices to help her heart pump, the bills started to pile up “from everywhere.” The Biden Administration needs to ensure that the #NoSurprisesAct prevents any more horror stories like hers. -insert Joclyn’s graphic-

Storyteller Graphics:

You can download the following graphics HERE.

 

HOSPITAL PRICE TRANSPARENCY

Template Comments:

  • Hospital Price Transparency Template Comments can be found at this link.
  • Comments are due Friday, September 17th COB, and you can submit them through the regulations.gov portal at this link.

Email Copy for Partners:

SUBJECT: Take Action to Strengthen Hospital Price Transparency!

Hi [First name of partner],

I hope you’re well! I’m reaching out to invite [their organization] to join [your organization’s name] in providing feedback to an important rule that will strengthen federal efforts to increase hospital price transparency. We’d love for [their organization] to join this effort. Comments are due Friday, September 17th COB, and you can submit them through the regulations.gov portal at this link.

The CY2022 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule calls out hospital’s failure to comply with the new rules requiring hospital systems to publicly post their health care prices online for public use and proposes additional monetary penalties.

If you’re interested in submitting comments, you can find a template comment letter from Families USA along with additional resources to amplify the importance of hospital price transparency at this link: [INSERT LINK TO TOOLKIT]

Please reach out to me at [your email] if you have any questions.

Thank you for your partnership.

Best,

[Your name]

Sample Social:

  • Hospitals have been required to post their #healthcare prices publicly, but they haven’t been complying. They prefer to pay the $300 fine than actually post their prices. This shows hospitals make undue profits from hiding prices. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/22/upshot/hospital-prices.html
  • Over 80% of adults support the federal government requiring hospitals to make all of their prices available so families know the price of care before receiving it. Join us in telling @CMSGov to make penalties high enough to be an actual deterrent. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60065b8fc8cd610112ab89a7/t/60f1c21c49c4f65d0f57d5ae/1626456605014/SocialSphere+Patient+Rights+Advocate+June+2021+Survey+Results.pdf
  • Nearly 3/4 of adults support increasing the penalty for hospitals who fail to comply with making all of their prices available so families know the price of care before receiving it, from the current $300/hospital/day penalty to $300/hospital bed/day. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60065b8fc8cd610112ab89a7/t/60f1c21c49c4f65d0f57d5ae/1626456605014/SocialSphere+Patient+Rights+Advocate+June+2021+Survey+Results.pdf
  • .@CMSGov needs to further increase the penalty for hospitals not complying with orders to reveal their prices by adopting policy that makes the increase a suitable deterrent. Use templates found below to submit comments before the 9/15 deadline. https://familiesusa.org/resources/administrative-advocacy-toolkit-no-surprises-act-and-hospital-price-transparency/ 
  • People in America didn’t know how much they pay for #healthcare until after receiving the bill. It’s time to take control back from the hospital executives into the hands of America’s families. Tell @CMSGov to increase the penalty for hospitals until they comply. -insert 3 in 4 graphic-
  • To ensure that hospitals don’t keep ignoring the requirement to make all of their prices available so people know the cost of care before getting it, @CMSgov needs to adopt the Consumers First approach to scale the penalty based on the number of licensed beds in a hospital. -insert 80% graphic-

Polling Graphics:

You can download the following graphics HERE.

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