ER Doctors Say Federal Rules Could Raise Patients’ Out-Of-Network Bills

(By – Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News)

Two professional organizations representing emergency doctors warn that a new federal rule could lead to higher out-of-pocket costs for consumers when they need emergency care outside their health plan’s network of providers. But consumer advocates and health policy experts say the groups’ proposed solution doesn’t adequately protect consumers.

Under the health law, plans can’t generally charge consumers higher copayments or coinsurance when they visit an emergency department that’s not in their network. So if the plan charges a flat copayment of $500, for example, or coinsurance totaling 30 percent of the cost of services for an emergency department visit at an in-network hospital, it can’t charge consumers more than that rate if they get emergency services at an out-of-network facility. The only plans that are exempt from this provision are those that have grandfathered status under the health law. Read more…

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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