The Biden administration released an interim final rule Thursday that prohibits balance billing and includes several provisions requiring providers to notify patients of new consumer protections. But tucked into the 411-page regulation, the first in a series, is a provision that targets a controversial practice where insurers deny an ED claim if the diagnosis isn’t considered an emergency.
Surprise billing rule also strikes down insurer ED policies
"Regulation by fiat"
Promoted under the guise of "consumer protection" this rule, if allowed to stand, will mean more crowding in Emergency Rooms and higher health insurance premiums.
Health insurance already covers things that never should be part of a policy.
Too many folks use the ER as a substitute for a PCP. Urgent care facilities exist in many metro areas and CAN be as an adjunct PCP.
Malcolm Bird took his 1-year-old daughter, Collette, to an emergency room after she started bleeding heavily from a cut on her finger. The doctor cleaned up the cut, put a Band-Aid on it, and sent them home.
A few weeks later, the family received a bill in the mail for $629. The breakdown of the bill was $7 for the Band-Aid, and $622 for what's known as an "emergency room facility fee” — the price a hospital charges for seeking services from an emergency room, no matter what problem a patient is having.
The curious case of the $629 ER bill — and one expensive Band-Aid
FWIW it appears the Vox reporter completely botched the story by assuming the insurance carrier applied the bill towards the plan deductible. There is NOTHING in her report to support that claim. No evidence of repricing.
Still, the story points out how the dad used an ER when there are at least 10 Urgent Care facilities in Danbury, CT where the Bird family lives.
BTW, the injury was caused by trimming nails . . .
Bird’s wife was clipping the fingernails of his 1-year-old daughter, Colette, when she accidentally cut Colette’s pinky finger. The cut started bleeding, and Bird and his wife wanted a doctor’s opinion
The Hidden Cost of Emergency Rooms
Surprise billing rule also strikes down insurer ED policies
"Regulation by fiat"
Promoted under the guise of "consumer protection" this rule, if allowed to stand, will mean more crowding in Emergency Rooms and higher health insurance premiums.
Health insurance already covers things that never should be part of a policy.
Too many folks use the ER as a substitute for a PCP. Urgent care facilities exist in many metro areas and CAN be as an adjunct PCP.
Malcolm Bird took his 1-year-old daughter, Collette, to an emergency room after she started bleeding heavily from a cut on her finger. The doctor cleaned up the cut, put a Band-Aid on it, and sent them home.
A few weeks later, the family received a bill in the mail for $629. The breakdown of the bill was $7 for the Band-Aid, and $622 for what's known as an "emergency room facility fee” — the price a hospital charges for seeking services from an emergency room, no matter what problem a patient is having.
The curious case of the $629 ER bill — and one expensive Band-Aid
FWIW it appears the Vox reporter completely botched the story by assuming the insurance carrier applied the bill towards the plan deductible. There is NOTHING in her report to support that claim. No evidence of repricing.
Still, the story points out how the dad used an ER when there are at least 10 Urgent Care facilities in Danbury, CT where the Bird family lives.
BTW, the injury was caused by trimming nails . . .
Bird’s wife was clipping the fingernails of his 1-year-old daughter, Colette, when she accidentally cut Colette’s pinky finger. The cut started bleeding, and Bird and his wife wanted a doctor’s opinion
The Hidden Cost of Emergency Rooms
