Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Party Lines Fall By The Wayside During Hearing Over What To Do About Surprise Medical Bills
Lawmakers of the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee appeared split on Wednesday over whether they should give physicians and hospitals a chance to appeal to an arbiter in a balance billing dispute. The divisions over how to handle balance billing didn't fall along party lines and peeled both Democratic and GOP representatives from the committee leaders' bipartisan proposal to set a benchmark price according to the patient's in-network rate. Committee Chair Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who produced a draft policy with ranking member Greg Walden (R-Ore.), put his stake in the ground for transparency and price concerns. (Luthi, 6/12)
During an Energy and Commerce Committee聽hearing聽on Walden's draft version of the No Surprises Act, Walden聽recalled horror stories of patients who聽follow the rules and yet "to no fault of their own, following an emergency situation or surgery receive a six-digit bill in the mail weeks later, which they have no way of paying. It is not fair, it should not happen."聽[Rep. Greg]聽Walden (R-Ore.) drafted the bipartisan聽No Surprises Act聽alongside Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), both vocal聽advocates聽for the critical need to put an end to surprise medical billing. (6/12)
In other news on health care costs 鈥
One Ohio resident paid $240 a month for health insurance that she later learned didn鈥檛 cover her knee replacement. Saddled with $48,000 in medical bills, she decided not to get the other knee replaced. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been devastating to me,鈥 said Elizabeth Belin, who lives in Columbus. The bills totaled more than her annual salary. A Kansas resident paid premiums on a policy for two years, then found out his insurance would not cover surgery for a newly diagnosed cancer. (Abelson, 6/12)
Carol Burgos is worried her neighbors think she is bringing the neighborhood down. She lives in a mobile home park in a woodsy part of Columbia County, N.Y, just off a two-lane highway. The homes have neat yards and American flags. On a spring Saturday, some neighbors are out holding yard sales, with knickknacks spread out on folding tables. Others are out doing yardwork. (Simmons-Duffin, 6/12)
