On May 9, 2019, President Donald Trump delivered a speech criticizing the practice of surprise medical billing. The president’s speech aligned with this administration’s American Patients First initiative—a blueprint for lowering consumer health costs. Here are the four main regulatory aspects called out by the president, suggesting that they might be tackled first:

1) In emergency situations, patients shouldn’t have to “bear the burden” of out-of-network costs.

2) Balanced billing should be prohibited for emergency care.

3) For scheduled non-emergency care, patients should receive an “honest” bill up front—including an itemized list of out-of-pocket expenses the patient must cover.

4) Patients should not receive a surprise bill from out-of-network providers they did not choose themselves.

Refer to the attached news brief for specific information and contact your NEEBCo representative with questions.

News Brief – Surprise Medical Billing