A ban on Surprise Medical bills starts this week.

The No Surprises Act (NSA) is a bipartisan bill that establishes new federal protections against surprise medical bills.

A surprise bill means extra charges from a provider you did not choose. Ie an emergency situation.

If you have a medical emergency and go to an emergency room or urgent care that is not in-network you cannot be charged more than your in-network services.

Here is what CMS.gov says: Currently, if consumers have health coverage and get care from an out-of-network provider, their health plan usually won’t cover the entire out-of-network cost. This could leave them with higher costs than if they’d been seen by an in-network provider. This is especially common in an emergency situation, where consumers might not be able to choose the provider. Even if a consumer goes to an in-network hospital, they might get care from out-of-network providers at that facility.

You are still responsible for deductibles and copays .

This does NOT prevent ambulance companies from billing you. but does protect consumers from surprise bills from air ambulances.

The law does not apply to your regular in-network doctors and hospitals.

The law does not apply to Medical sharing programs like Christian medical sharing.

Does not apply to out-of-network doctors you chose to visit.

Featured