Three top lawmakers in the House and Senate announced that they have reached an agreement in principle on legislation to address so-called “surprise” medical bills that would set payment rates for out-of-network care based on a benchmark of the median in-network rate in a given area, and also establish an arbitration process for health care providers to appeal the payments for some large claims. The lawmakers did not reveal many details of the agreement, but said they hope to include the legislation in an end-of-year spending package. (Source: Modern Healthcare, 12/8)
