Listen: How the New ‘No Surprises’ Law Tackles Unexpected Medical Bills

January 5, 2022

</p> <p>The federal <a href="https://www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/no-surprises-act-implementation-what-to-expect-in-2022/">No Surprises Act</a>, which aims to eliminate unexpected out-of-network medical bills, took effect Jan. 1, and KHN correspondents hit the airwaves to explain the new law. </p> <p>KHN senior correspondent Julie Appleby appeared on NPR’s “Weekend Edition” on Sunday to give background on why the law was necessary: Surveys showed that up to 1 in 5 emergency department visits and 1 in 10 elective surgeries resulted in an unexpected, out-of-network bill. </p> <p>Julie Rovner, KHN’s chief Washington correspondent and the host of KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast, joined NPR/WBUR’s “Here & Now” on Monday. Rovner detailed how the new law’s “baseball arbitration-style process” is supposed to work out billing disputes between care providers and insurers — without leaving patients on the hook. </p> <p>Copy HTML