Demand Progress

Stop surprise medical billing!

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    Stop surprise medical billing!

    Petition to Congress:
    We urge you to reject any efforts to undermine or block the No Surprises Act, a law that went into effect in January 2022 and ensures Americans won't be held financially responsible for receiving out-of-network care in medical emergencies. 

    In medical emergencies, people need care. They shouldn’t have to worry about whether they’re receiving care from an in-network provider — or worry about receiving a surprise bill you didn’t expect. 

    A law preventing surprise medical billing for emergency care finally went into effect this month. But now, corporate Democrats are joining forces with Republicans and the health insurance lobby to block it in the courts.1 We need Congress to protect basic patient protections, not the healthcare industry.

    The existing law, the No Surprises Act, ensures that if you wind up in the emergency room, you can't be charged any more for receiving out-of-network care than your insurance company charges for in-network care. 

    The private healthcare industry opposes the policy because it prevents providers from collecting exorbitant fees from patients — and shows that the American people are ready to put an end to the runaway costs of healthcare in this country.  

    Sign the petition: All members of Congress should support the No Surprises Act, which protects the American people from predatory medical billing!

    Two of the biggest medical lobby groups, the American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association, are leading the campaign against the policy, and their contributions have earned the support of members of both parties, including Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.; Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; and Rep. Richie Neal, D-Mass.2 

    We need lawmakers who advocate for the people's interests, not for corporate lobby groups. Rep. Richie Neal, a high-profile Democrat opposing the policy, received $200,000 from the private healthcare lobby during his re-election campaign in 2020 after months of vocal opposition to the No Surprises Act and Medicare for All.3  

    Neal is in the pocket of the health industry. We need to hold him accountable – and make sure the rest of Congress rejects this effort to make health care more expensive in order to make insurance companies richer! 

    Sign the petition: The No Surprises Act is an essential patient protection. We demand that Members of Congress stop trying to dismantle it on behalf of their corporate donors! 

    Sources:
    1. The Intercept, "Democrats Join Republicans to Undermine Biden's Surprise Medical Billing Rule," January 17, 2022.
    2. The American Prospect, "Hospital Lobby Shells Out for Its 'Friend in Washington' Richie Neal - The American Prospect," August 13, 2020.