House Passes Ban on Surprise Medical Bills

COLUMBUS – Surprise billing, legislation sponsored by State Representative Adam Holmes (R-Nashport), passed out of the Ohio House of Representatives today.

Surprise medical bills are unexpected charges to patients from out-of-network health care practitioners, leaving families blindsided and left holding a bill for additional costs not covered by insurance.

House Bill 388 is a free market solution to the problem of surprise billing. Under the legislation, an out-of-network health care professional, who provides care during an in-network procedure, could elect to be paid the in-network rate by the insurance company or could negotiate a different rate with the insurance company.

If no agreement is reached, the health care provider can pursue “baseball style” arbitration. Under this approach each side would submit documentation supporting their position to a neutral, third party arbiter who would make a final, binding decision.

Holmes mentioned that the key is that regardless of how the issue is decided, it would be resolved between the provider and the insurance company – without the patient being stuck in the middle.

“House Bill 388 protects consumers and it puts their needs first,” said Holmes. “This free market approach not only takes patients out of the middle of contract disputes, but will help reduce overall healthcare costs.”

According to Stanford University researchers, surprise billing is on the rise across America and so is the expense, with average costs tripling over a seven-year period to more than $2,000 per bill.[1] A recent poll found that one third of privately-insured Ohioans report having received a surprise medical bill.[2]

Additionally, nearly eight in 10 Americans support legislative action to protect patients from surprise medical bills, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll[3], which found strong support among Democrats, Republicans and independents.

“Now more than ever, we need to put our political parties aside and come together as Ohioans to protect other Ohioans. Coronavirus has left many families facing financial strains and the last thing they need is a surprise medical bill. This crisis makes it even more imperative that we provide this legal protection for Ohio’s citizens immediately,” said Holmes.

The bill passed the House with a vote of 95-0.