The Unfinished Business Of Air Ambulance Bills
Erin C. Fuse Brown, Loren Adler, Karan R. Chhabra, Barak D. Richman, Erin Trish, 26 March 2021
On December 27, 2020, tucked into the year-end coronavirus relief package and spending bill, Congress passed the No Surprises Act, largely ending the practice of surprise out-of-network medical bills. In a win for patients, the law applies to air ambulance operators as well as out-of-network providers and facilities that provide emergency and non-emergency health services. Nevertheless, the law’s consumer protections don’t go far enough to protect patients from the financial risks of an air ambulance transport.
Effective January 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act generally prohibits out-of-network providers in emergencies and at in-network facilities from billing patients for more than their in-network cost-sharing amounts (eliminating patient balance-billing) and sets up a dispute resolution process to determine the amount the patient’s health plan will pay for the out-of-network care. Continue reading “Article: The Unfinished Business Of Air Ambulance Bills”
