ASA Urges Key Federal Agency to Fix No Surprises Act Implementation

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is urging the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) to address an imbalance in the implementation of the No Surprises Act (NSA), the federal surprise medical bill law.  The imbalance has emboldened health insurance companies to push anesthesiology practices out-of-network and into a dysfunctional dispute resolution system.  In its formal communication to CCIIO, ASA described existing implementation challenges and recommended changes to address the behavior of insurance companies and to improve anesthesiologists’ ability to successfully obtain reasonable payments.

ASA has been in frequent contact with CCIIO leadership and staff regarding problems with NSA implementation.  Additionally, ASA had previously joined with the American College of Emergency Physician (ACEP) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) to file a federal lawsuit in Chicago, IL challenging the government’s unlawful implementation of parts of the NSA.  Most recently, ASA, again jointly with ACEP and ACR, filed an amicus brief in support of pending Texas Medical Association litigation regarding the implementation.