Understanding the Biggest Threats to the No Surprises Act Achieving Its Full Potential

No one should go bankrupt from receiving health care. Yet 60% of people experiencing bankruptcy in America cite medical expenses as a leading cause. Thanks to the No Surprises Act (NSA) of 2020, more than 1 million surprise medical bills per month are now prevented from reaching consumers.

Major challenges, however, could prevent the NSA from realizing its full potential to protect consumers from the impact of surprise billing. Since the law went into effect on January 1, 2022, some detractors have waged a relentless campaign to undermine these protections. They have filed a series of lawsuits aimed at overturning key provisions in the law and regulations.

Additionally, some health care providers and medical billing companies have inundated the Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process with 14 times more disputes than anticipated. This has undermined this new system before it has had the opportunity to work as designed. Furthermore, when providers and insurers have not been not in compliance with the law, it has fallen on consumers to identify the problem and request their rightful protections.

Policymakers must remain steadfast in centering consumers first and foremost under the No Surprises Act and work to bring providers in-network, prevent surprise bills and stop prices from rising at unsustainable rates.