08.19.2022 / Statement

Biden administration’s actions will protect millions of families from financial ruin when seeking medical care. 

WASHINGTON, DC – Families USA Executive Director Frederick Isasi issued the following statement today in response to the Biden administration’s release of the final rule under the No Surprises Act dealing with the design of the process that will settle payments between providers and insurers:  

“Supporting and implementing strong, comprehensive policies that improve health care affordability ensures that no one has to choose between going to the doctor and paying their mortgage. President Biden and his administration are doing that today and fulfilling the promise of the No Surprises Act. 

“The idea that families paying their health insurance premiums every month routinely could get hit with thousands of dollars of unexpected medical bills is unconscionable. It’s happened to so many of us and is just another indication of how much the health care sector has lost its way. The President’s actions today will protect all of us from financial devastation when we need medical care and lower our health insurance premiums. 

“Today, they have laid out a key piece of the puzzle for getting costs under control: critical guardrails that help ensure fair payment to providers while discouraging abuse of the reimbursement negotiations process. It’s no secret that some providers try to obtain higher, inflated rates and have used surprise medical bills as a business model to keep costs high. Now, they will no longer have the opportunity to wring more money from families. 

“These additional protections will further strengthen the No Surprises Act, which has already helped prevent millions of surprise medical bills, and solidify President Biden’s commitment to lowering health care costs and eliminating medical debt for families. This commitment is particularly important in the face of unprecedented, baseless lawsuits that industry has pursued to protect their price gouging at the expense of families already struggling with rising food, gas and housing prices. 

“Unfortunately, the fight is unlikely to end today. Unscrupulous exploiters will continue their lawsuits to put price gouging before families. I urge the Biden administration to stay the course and continue putting people before exploitation and industry greed.”  

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