A New Federal Law Aims to End Maddening Surprise Medical Bills
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Say goodbye to surprise medical bills.
The federal No Surprises Act, which protects consumers with private health insurance by banning most surprise bills from out-of-network providers, went into effect on Jan. 1.
In the past, many patients who received emergency care from a facility or doctor that was out of their network — or scheduled non-emergency care that involved an out-of-work doctor — were hit with unexpected bills after their treatment. These bills often came from medical providers that were difficult (if not impossible) for patients to research in advance: You could do your homework and make sure your main surgeon participated in your insurance plan, for example, only to have a non-participating anesthesiologist treat you before surgery.
But now these bills should disappear.
