Health Affairs July 6, 2021
On July 1, 2021—just in time to meet a statutory deadline set by Congress—the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued an interim final rule (IFR) to implement key parts of the No Surprises Act (NSA). The NSA—which was adopted as part of a broader legislative package in December 2020 and builds on parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—includes comprehensive new patient protections against surprise medical bills. The IFR was issued alongside a press release, two fact sheets, and other new materials.
Out-of-network surprise medical bills (also known as balance bills) arise when a consumer inadvertently or unknowingly receives care from a provider (such as a physician) or...