OPINION:
The numbers on surprise medical bills keep getting worse. A recent poll found that nearly half the country has faced a surprise medical bill. And 70 percent of those hit with one said they had a difficult time paying it, driving many of them into debt. Now, like vultures, debt collectors are circling patients who are struggling to pay their surprise bills.
In Colorado, debt collectors placed a lien on a patient’s home and garnished 25 percent of her monthly wages over a surprise bill. Nicole Briggs, a mother to a toddler, had to rush to the ER when she felt intense stomach pain. And, while still in pain, she called the hospital to make sure it was within her insurance network. The hospital assured her that it was in-network. But, after receiving surgery there, she received a surprise bill for $5,000, which, with interest, grew to nearly $6,000. How did this happen?
Like thousands of other patients, she was at an in-network medical facility, but was treated by a doctor who was out-of-network. The convoluted rules surrounding surprise bills makes it nearly impossible for patients to follow them correctly. At every corner, they could be walking into a trap that hits their pocketbooks. Without common-sense reforms, bad actors will continue to nickel and dime patients with expensive out-of-network charges.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Republican, a former doctor, saw the trouble these bills were causing Americans and used his background in medicine to craft a fair law that would end surprise bills. His bill, the STOP Surprise Medical Bills Act (STOP Act), would effectively bar hospitals and doctors from sending surprise bills to out-of-network patients. Under the STOP Act, insurers would have to treat the patient’s hospital visit as if it were in-network.
Mr. Cassidy’s bill has received wide bipartisan support, with Sens. Michael Bennet, Colorado Democrat, Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Democrat, and Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Democrat, co-sponsoring it.
At the same time, however, some lawmakers are considering using a year-end budget bill to curb surprise bills. But year-end funding bills are broad and cover a number of issues, so any effort to end surprise bills would be diluted by the other legislation packed inside of it. And this approach, floated only on Capitol Hill, has not been vetted by patients.
On the other hand, patients overwhelmingly support measures in the STOP Act. On average, 88 percent of Americans, 71 percent of Republicans and 78 percent of independents support legislation that protects patients from surprise bills. Republican leaders have noticed that a majority of their base — and centrist voters — want them to take action on this problem.
Fortunately, Republican senators, such as Cory Gardner and Thom Tillis, are working to reform the health care system. Mr. Gardner and Mr. Tillis are proven leaders when it comes to protecting patients, as evidenced by their votes for bills that lower health care costs and improve access to medical facilities.
Like always, Republicans are taking the lead on a pressing issue and providing a creative, thoughtful solution. The STOP Act puts us one step closer to hammering the final nail in surprise medical bills.
• Tommy Tucker is a former North Carolina state senator where he served as the co-chair of the Health and Human Services Committee.
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