Oregon Rep. Greg Walden told reporters Friday that he is optimistic that his bipartisan legislation to stop surprise medical billing will move forward despite a busy congressional calendar this fall.
“We are making progress, there’s still discussions. I’ve talked to some of the senators who are involved and I think we’re going to find a path forward,” Walden said about legislation to end surprise billing Friday.
The No Surprises Act, cosponsored by Walden and Democrat Frank Pallone, passed out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in July, but has not reached the House floor — and the clock is ticking.
Congress takes another recess in October, and with the start of impeachment proceedings in the House, even bipartisan, bicameral legislation like The No Surprises Act could fall by the wayside. Still, Walden sounded optimistic Friday when he discussed talks with senators who hold different beliefs about how to go about lowering healthcare costs.
“There’s obviously some pretty strongly held philosophical views about how to do this and we want to get it right,” Walden said. “I think the foundation is the consumer shouldn’t get whacked unfairly, if you follow the rules.”
Often, patients receive surprise bills for medical care that they didn’t know was not covered by their insurance. For example, it’s difficult in an emergency medical situation to ascertain with providers which services are covered and which would be paid for out of pocket.
The No Surprises Act would protect patients from paying more than the median cost of in-network emergency healthcare and would prohibit providers from charging a patient for the care that their insurers will not cover.
