On Thursday, the Biden administration implemented a ban against surprise billing practices. This is a first step towards eliminating unexpected charges for patients who need expensive healthcare services like air ambulance rides.The latest guidance strengthens the laws protections for patients in medical emergencies. This includes situations where consent and notice procedures would not apply to ensure that patients don't become victims of surprise medical bills at their most vulnerable times. Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing is a lobbying group representing major healthcare trade groups such as the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Americas Health Insurance Plans.BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ISSUES VERY FIRST IN A SERIES of RULES TO EXEMPT SURPRISEMEDICAL BILLINGThe rule was announced by the Department of Health and Human Services to ban surprise billing for non-emergency and emergency services. This includes air ambulance rides. These are some of the most expensive services for patients and can often cost thousands of dollars. Patients would have to pay the remainder of the bill regardless of whether their insurance covers part of the cost of an air ambulance ride. According to the Government Accountability Office, 2017's median cost of air ambulance services was $36,000.The $36,000 price tag could be much higher than that, however, as Amy Thompson, Montana, discovered after her daughter, who was in heart failure, had to be flown to Seattle Children's Hospital 600-miles away. Kaiser Health News reported. Thompson's insurance paid for her daughter's treatment, but not the flight in an air ambulance. The bill was $56,000This new rule is the first step of the Biden administration in implementing the No Surprises Act law, signed by Donald Trump last winter. It would ban all unexpected billing practices for most healthcare services. The law will require healthcare providers to negotiate out-of-network payments with insurance companies without patients. Ground ambulance services were not included in the law. Patients will still be subject to surprise bills.Continue the storyThe No Surprises Act was the result of compromise. The 2019 Lower Health Care Costs Act was introduced by Patty Murray, a Washington Democratic Senator, and Lamar Alexander, a former Tennessee Republican Senator. The No Surprises Act used arbitration language from the 2019 House Ways and Means Committee proposal. This proposal favored voluntary negotiations between providers and insurers with independent dispute resolution as a backup plan.CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM THE WASHINGTON XAMINERA new HHS rule will follow the HHS rule on Thursday. It calls for providers and insurers to join an independent dispute resolution process in order to settle the remaining bill. An arbitrator from a third party would consider final-offer payments from both the provider and the insurer, and then determine the fairest price. This is based on several factors such as the historical median in-network insurance rate for similar healthcare services.The new rule will take effect January 1, next year.Washington Examiner VideosTags: Healthcare News, HHS News, Biden Administration. Xavier BecerraCassidy Morrison is the original authorOriginal Location: Unexpected $36K air ambulance bill expected to be history under new "surprise billing" rule
