Live Breaking News & Updates on Lower health care costs
Stay updated with breaking news from Lower health care costs. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
In Virtual Discussion with NH Health Care Advocates, Shaheen Urges Granite Staters to Sign Up for Coverage during ACA Special Enrollment Period
(Manchester, NH) – This morning, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) hosted a virtual meeting with Protect Our Care, Covering NH and health care advocates to highlight the 2021 Special Health Insurance Enrollment Period that was announced by President Biden in January. Shaheen also discussed her new legislation, the Improving Health Insurance Affordability Act, which would expand coverage to more than 4 million Americans who are currently uninsured and reduce premiums and deductibles for millions of additional individuals who already have coverage, which is especially critical amid the pandemic.
Wednesday, January 27, 2021 Introduction Surprise billing describes a situation when an insured patient unknowingly receives care from an out-of-network provider and then is presented with a bill for services and payment obligation beyond what the patient’s insurer will cover. Surprise medical bills can arise in an emergency when the patient has no ability to select the facility or provider rendering services. Surprise bills can also arise when a patient receives planned care, such as when a patient receives care at an in-network facility but later finds out that a provider who treated the patient is out-of-network. This most often happens with providers with whom the patient does not interact prior to the service, such as pathologists and radiologists.
President Trump Signs Legislation Dec 28, 2020 at 06:16 am by WGNS (WASHINGTON DC) A government shut-down has been avoided when on Sunday (12/27/2020) President Donald J. Trump signed into law COVID-19 Relief Funding legislation. The president was trying to negotiate an increase to $2,000 per American worker making less than $75,000 annually. Instead the amount remained at $600. It included a bicameral proposal that holds patients harmless from surprise bills and resolves payment disputes between providers and insurers. The legislation signed into law also includes Alexander’s bipartisan higher education proposals, which significantly simplifies the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by reducing its 108 questions to a maximum of 36 questions, restores the ability for incarcerated individuals to get a Pell Grant, reinstates Pell Grant eligibility for students who have been defrauded, forgives outstanding debt of Historically Black Colleges and Universities that received loans under the federal HBCU Capital Financing Loan Program, and removes certain unnecessary regulations and aid limitations on institutions of higher education and students. This was created by thebi-partisan committee chaired by U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN).
- Clarksville, TN Online - https://www.clarksvilleonline.com - Lamar Alexander reports Congress Set to End Surprise Medical Billing Posted By Politics | Washington, D.C. – Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said Congress is set to end the practice of surprise medical billing after it was announced that a bipartisan proposal to hold patients harmless from surprise bills and resolve payment disputes between providers and insurers will be included in broader government funding legislation that Congress will consider this week. “It is time for Congress to make sure that patients don’t receive a surprise bill when they seek medical treatment,” Senator Alexander said. “Typically, one of five patients who go to an emergency room receives a surprise bill weeks later.”
Alexander Says Congress Set To End Surprise Medical Billing Sunday, December 20, 2020 Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander on Sunday said Congress is set to end the practice of surprise medical billing after it was announced that a bipartisan proposal to hold patients harmless from surprise bills and resolve payment disputes between providers and insurers will be included in broader government funding legislation that Congress will consider this week. “It is time for Congress to make sure that patients don’t receive a surprise bill when they seek medical treatment,” Senator Alexander said. “Typically, one of five patients who go to an emergency room receives a surprise bill weeks later. This practice has been especially damaging during COVID-19 when patients receive large unexpected bills weeks after they go to the emergency room. There will never be a broader bipartisan, bicameral solution to ending surprise medical billing and we should deal with it now. Patients cannot wait any longer.”
Lawmakers left hospital, insurer contract guardrails out of year-end proposal Modern Healthcare Illustration / Getty Images Lawmakers decided to eliminate provisions from an end-of-year proposal that would have prohibited anticompetitive healthcare contracting practices. Congress' end-of-year spending legislation is still in flux, but eight lawmakers that lead key committees didn't ask to curb gag clauses or various types of clauses that would make it difficult for plans to steer consumers to lower-cost or higher-quality providers. The practices targeted in a prior bipartisan healthcare reform package titled the Lower Health Care Costs Act are widespread, but have gained renewed attention since California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was chosen as President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for HHS secretary. Becerra sued Sutter Health for anticompetitive practices similar to those the legislation was designed to stop.