Senator Bill Cassidy’s Surprise Medical Bill legislation preventing patients from paying unexpected fees after going to the hospital is now in effect. Cassidy said this is one of the first steps towards getting price transparency but there’s still a lot to be done.
“We buy a car, we know what the price is beforehand, I go to the hardware store and buy a hammer, I know what the price is beforehand. In medicine that’s never been the case,” Cassidy said.
The legislation prevents patients from paying out-of-network costs for emergency services and if some of the equipment or personnel is not in your network then the patient must be informed, given an estimate, and allowed to find someone in-network. Cassidy said he’s heard of insurance companies playing games by not going in-network with doctors knowing it would put the patient at risk for the cost but now patients are no longer at risk.
“If the insurance company, hospital, or the doctor want to disagree they can disagree but the patient is out of the middle,” Cassidy said.
If you leave the hospital with a higher bill than anticipated, Cassidy suggested first checking with your insurance company to see what the issue is along with contacting the Louisiana Department of Insurance at 1-800-259-5300. Cassidy says patients now have recourse thanks to the new law.
“It isn’t just oh please throw yourself at the mercy of the insurance company. It’s no this is my contracted rate, period, end of the story, this is my obligation I don’t have to pay more,” Cassidy said.