The No Surprises Act protects patients from one of the worst experiences in the U.S. healthcare system — surprise out-of-network hospital bills.
This podcast was released on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 in Kaiser Health News.
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On Jan. 1, Americans woke up with some new protections from giant medical bills.
Healthcare — and how much it costs — is scary. But you're not alone with this stuff, and knowledge is power. "An Arm and a Leg" is a podcast about these issues, and is co-produced by KHN.
Meet the No Surprises Act. It's a new law that protects patients from one of the worst experiences the U.S. healthcare system has to offer — surprise out-of-network hospital bills. That's when a person gets hit with a bill from an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital. Under the new law, if a person visits an in-network hospital and is seen by an out-of-network provider, that provider and the insurer have to work it out for themselves. Patients are only on the hook for what they would've paid an in-network provider. That's a big deal.
But there are some caveats (because, of course). For instance: These protections apply only to care in a hospital. Then there's the deceptively named Surprise Billing Protection form that patients might be asked to sign, waiving these newly won rights. And there's more.
This episode of "An Arm and a Leg" breaks down what you need to know about your rights under this new law, what traps to look out for, and who to call if something smells fishy.
Actually, here: The federal hotline for reporting No Surprises Act violations is at 1-800-985-3059.
Here's a transcript of the episode.
"An Arm and a Leg" is a co-production of KHN and Public Road Productions.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
Patients are only on the hook for what they would've paid an in-network provider. That's a big deal.
But there are some caveats. For instance: These protections apply only to care in a hospital.
Then there's the deceptively named Surprise Billing Protection form that patients might be asked to sign, waiving these newly won rights.