Category: surprise bill

by Paul Giancola Arizona has joined the national trend of trying to solve the “problem” of “surprise medical out-of-network bills.” The prevalence of this concern was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine which stated that 22% of patients who visited an emergency department received a surprise bill from an out-of-network provider.  A “surprise bill” arises when an enrollee of a health plan receives care, and a medical bill, from a health care provider who does not belong to their health insurer’s provider network.  These bills are typically for medical services that are rendered at an in-network health care facility or at the request of an in-network physician.  The enrollee is then billed by the out-of-network provider for the remaining amount of the charge that is the difference or the “balance” of the charge less the allowable insurance amount paid under the enrollee’s health plan.  In contrast, in-network providers are generally prohibited from balance billing a patient under their plan contracts. The Arizona Senate Bill 1441, signed on April 24, 2017 by Governor Ducey, amends Title 20 of the Insurance Law, Section 20-3102 by adding Article 2 “out-of-network claim … Continue reading →