Rival Surprise Medical Bill Proposal Emerges, Possibly Throwing Wrench Into Process That Was Only Just Kick-Started

After months of delays, the House Energy And Commerce Committee released legislation that would tackle the issue of surprise medical bills. It has garnered bipartisan support in Congress and won backing from President Donald Trump. But Ways and Means Committee lawmakers think their proposal is better.

The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday put out its own, rival proposal to protect patients from surprise medical bills. The proposal from Reps. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Kevin Brady (R-Texas), the chairman and ranking member of the panel, comes on top of the deal announced by a different panel on Sunday. That panel, the Energy and Commerce Committee, on Sunday announced a bipartisan deal on surprise medical bills that included the chairman of the Senate Health Committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). (Sullivan and Hellmann, 12/11)

Congress is closing in on a deal that could shield patients from surprise medical bills, eliminating a source of frustration for Americans who face unexpected charges from emergency care and other procedures. The question for the health-care industry is whether that fix might have broader implications for overall medical prices. (Court and Tozzi, 12/11)

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