New Law to Protect Against Surprise Medical Bills
Get ready with the following information and forms:
Beginning January 1, 2022, all healthcare providers will be required by law to give uninsured and self-pay patients a good faith estimate of costs for services that they offer, when scheduling care or when the patient requests an estimate. This new requirement was finalized in regulations issued October 7, 2021. The regulations implement part of the “No Surprises Act,” enacted in December 2020 as part of a broad package of COVID- and spending-related legislation. The act aims to reduce the likelihood that patients may receive a “surprise” medical bill by requiring that providers inform patients of an expected charge for a service before the service is provided.
The government will also soon issue regulations requiring healthcare providers to give good faith estimates to commercial or government insurers, when the patient has insurance and plans to use it.
Read more here on how to implement this new requirement in your practice: New billing disclosure requirements take effect in 2022 (apaservices.org)
Here is a sample notice to patients and form that you can ready for your practice use.