Biden Moves to Lower Health Care Costs, Limit Insurance Junk Fees
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Physician’s Briefing Staff HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, July 10, 2023 -- When they need health care, Americans can be slapped with surprise medical costs because of loopholes in the law and "junk fees," according to the White House. The Biden administration is taking action on several fronts to deal with these unexpected costs.
Proposed rules include closing loopholes in which companies offer "misleading insurance products that can discriminate based on preexisting conditions and trick consumers into buying products that provide little or no coverage when they need it most," the White House said. Instead, insurance companies would be required to be clear about what is covered and not bury important information in the fine print.
Additional new rules will curb surprise medical billing. This will protect patients from unexpected bills for care they had thought was in-network. These surprise out-of-network bills cost an average of $750 to $2,600, the White House said. It is illegal under federal law for health plans that contract with hospitals to claim being out-of-network. The Biden administration will offer new guidance making this clear to providers.
"Health care services provided by these providers are either out-of-network and subject to the surprise billing protections," the White House said, "or they are in-network and subject to the Affordable Care Act's annual limitation on cost-sharing, further protecting consumers from excessive out-of-pocket costs."
Information on "facility fees" must be clear for consumers, according to a White House fact sheet.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Treasury Department will work together to make sure health care providers are complying with consumer protections.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted July 2023
Read this next
AI-Assisted Contours Superior to Cognitively Defined Prostate Cancer Contours
WEDNESDAY, July 3, 2024 -- Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted definition of prostate cancer contours reduces underestimation of the extent of prostate cancer, according to a...
Mean Cost of Bringing New Drug to U.S. Market Is $879.3 Million
TUESDAY, July 2, 2024 -- The mean cost of developing a new drug for the U.S. market is estimated to be $879.3 million when both drug development failure and capital costs are...
Patient–Primary Care Provider Language Concordance Tied to Better Outcomes
TUESDAY, July 2, 2024 -- Patient-family physician language concordance is associated with a lower risk for adverse outcomes, according to a study published online June 3...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.