Anesthesiologists Oppose 700% Increase in Fee to Access No Surprises Act Independent Dispute Resolution Process and Call for IDR Reforms

Today, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) expressed its outrage with the 700% surge in the No Surprises Act (NSA) administrative fee that must be paid by anesthesiologists to access the Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) system. ASA urges the government to block implementation of the massive fee increase and reform the IDR process.

American Society of Anesthesiologists Makes Recommendations to Biden Admin.: Implement ‘No Surprises Act’ Equitably Without Improper Advantage to Health Insurers

Today, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) requested the Biden administration include a series of recommendations in its regulations to implement the “No Surprises Act,” the new federal surprise medical bill law, that will be implemented on January 1, 2022. ASA’s recommendations aim to ensure that the law is implemented fairly and equitably without improper benefit to health insurance companies.

ASA Encouraged by Ways and Means Framework on Surprise Bills, Urges Striking of Median In-Network Rate Setting

Today, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), representing more than 54,000 members, applauded the House Ways and Means Committee’s legislative framework to address surprise medical bills, while encouraging further refinement of the legislation.

“We applaud the Ways and Means Committee for its continued efforts to protect patients from surprise medical bills and we are encouraged by the legislative framework. It is an improvement over other House Committees’ work product,” said ASA President Mary Dale Peterson, M.D., MSCHA, FACHE, FASA. “We look forward to continuing to work with Congress and this Committee to refine and improve the legislation, especially to ensure that any solution ensures a fair playing field for disputes between insurance companies and physicians. In particular, we urge the Committee to refine the proposal by eliminating the median in-network rate-setting mechanism.”

ASA Troubled by Impact of Education and Labor Committee Surprise Bill Legislation, Urges Support for Key Amendments

Today, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), representing more than 54,000 members, expressed serious concerns with the surprise medical bills legislation released by the House Education and Labor Committee as drafted. The Society expresses strong support amendments to address the bill’s pro-insurer orientation.

1 in 5 operations may lead to surprise bills, even when surgeon & hospital are in-network

As if recovering from surgery wasn’t hard enough, a new study shows that one in five operations could result in an unwelcome surprise: a bill for hundreds or thousands of dollars that the patient didn’t know they might owe.
On average, that potential surprise bill added up to $2,011. That’s on top of the nearly $1,800 the average privately insured patient would already owe after it paid for most of the costs of their operation.