No Surprises Act
Latest action · Jul 11, 2019 Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote .
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 9, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
No Surprises Act
This bill expands restrictions on charging health care plan holders out-of-network rates for certain services. First, the bill requires insurers offering plans that cover emergency services to bill plan holders no more than the median in-network rate for a particular emergency service, even if the service provider is out of network. The bill further prohibits insurers from billing plan holders more than the median in-network rate for nonemergency services provided by out-of-network providers at in-network facilities.
Out-of-network providers may not bill plan holders for the difference between the in-network and out-of-network rates for emergency services. The bill further prohibits out-of-network providers from billing plan holders for the difference in rates for nonemergency services provided at an in-network facility unless the provider complies with specified notice and consent requirements. Even when complying with these requirements, an out-of-network provider may not charge plan holders for the difference in rates for such nonemergency services if the provider is based at the in-network facility and is the only provider available to deliver the particular treatment or service at the facility.
The Department of Health and Human Services must provide grants to states to establish or maintain All Payer Claims Databases, which publish claims and payment information from insurers.
The bill also requires insurers to publish provider directories and requires the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Labor to report on certain issues related to the commercial health care market.
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 9, 2019 to Sep 12, 2019; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-OR | Greg Walden | Original | Jul 9, 2019 |
| R-MO | Ann Wagner | Sep 12, 2019 | |
| D-MI | Rashida Tlaib | Sep 12, 2019 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Jul 9, 2019 |
| Health Subcommittee | Hearings Jun 12, 2019Referred Jul 10, 2019Markup Jul 11, 2019Reported Jul 11, 2019 | |
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Jul 9, 2019 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 11, 2019Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jul 11, 2019Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote .
- Jul 10, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Jul 9, 2019Introduced in House
- Jul 9, 2019Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Jun 12, 2019Hearings Held by the Subcommittee on Health Prior to Introduction and Referral.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 114, July 9, 2019, page H5303.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | OVERSIGHT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION: SPECTRUM AUCTIONS PROGRAM58 pages | Appropriations Committee | Oct 17, 2019 |
| Serial No. 116-43 | NO MORE SURPRISES: PROTECTING PATIENTS FROM SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLS288 pages | Energy and Commerce Committee | Jun 12, 2019 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act to protect health care consumers from surprise billing practices, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- No Surprises Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Aviation and airports
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional oversight
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Health
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Health facilities and institutions
- Health information and medical records
- Health programs administration and funding
- Health technology, devices, supplies
- Hospital care
- Transportation costs
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 9, 2019Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
