ACEP Supports Legal Action by AMA and AHA to Uphold Congressional Intent of No Surprises Act

 The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) continues to raise concerns about the flawed implementation of the No Surprises Act and supports the goals of the lawsuit filed by the American Medical Association and American Hospital Association against the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services.

As ACEP originally asserted, emergency physicians are deeply disappointed that the interim final rule (IFR) is almost entirely inconsistent with Congressional intent to create a fair and unbiased process to resolve billing disputes.

“There is no way this legislation can support the fair resolution of surprise billing disputes as Congress intended unless changes are made,” said Gillian Schmitz, MD, FACEP, president of ACEP. “The interim final rule has twisted a carefully crafted bill into a gift for insurance companies. Appropriate steps must be taken to ensure the legislation includes an unbiased approach that actually solves surprise bills.”

Emergency physicians worry that the lack of a balanced process to solve billing disputes will further embolden health plans to cancel existing contracts and push even more emergency physicians out-of-network, making it harder for patients to access emergency care. ACEP is exploring all avenues to push back against this dangerous policy.

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) is the national medical society representing emergency medicine. Through continuing education, research, public education and advocacy, ACEP advances emergency care on behalf of its 40,000 emergency physician members, and the more than 150 million Americans they treat on an annual basis. For more information, visit www.acep.org and www.emergencyphysicians.org.