A handful of nonprofit groups representing hospitals and health systems moved to help a pair of healthcare heavyweights in their legal challenge against a key provision in the surprise billing rule.
Five organizations filed an amicus brief Dec. 15 backing the American Medical Association’s and American Hospital Association’s lawsuit against the independent dispute resolution process for unexpected bills.
Those groups include the Federation of American Hospitals, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Catholic Health Association of the United States, America’s Essential Hospitals and the Children’s Hospital Association.
Similar to complaints from the AHA and AMA, the five entities argue the dispute resolution process affords insurance companies unfair benefits and little incentive to negotiate honest in-network contracts.
“This unintended additional bargaining leverage for insurers will result in fewer in-network contracts, limiting patients’ access to specialty and subspecialty care, increasing the volume of out-of-network care, delaying care, and ultimately increasing costs due to poorer outcomes,” the organizations wrote in the amicus brief.
The surprise billing rule is set to kick in this coming January.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.