Surprise Medical Bills

Protect patients from surprise medical bills that result from unexpected gaps in their insurance coverage or medical emergencies, without reductions to in-network hospital services for in-network patients through rate setting or other mechanisms.

• Support implementation of the “No Surprises Act,” a federal law to address surprise medical bills that passed in December 2020 and goes into effect January 1, 2022
• Oppose additional state legislation that is duplicative or contradictory to the federal law

Transparency

Ensure patients have access to the information they need to make informed healthcare decisions, including their expected out-of-pocket costs.

• Support hospitals’ implementation of new federal transparency requirements that went into effect January 1, 2021, and oppose any redundant state-level requirements
• Oppose proposals that shift the burden of payment for services from the payer to the provider (such as reference-based pricing)
• MHA will continue to post pricing information on its Montana Informed Patient Website

Reduce Administrative Waste

Advance solutions to reduce administrative waste, such as by streamlining prior authorization requirements and processes.

Reduce Regulatory Burden

Reduce regulatory burdens that unnecessarily increase the cost of healthcare and divert resources and providers’ time from patient care. Federal-level regulatory burden alone costs roughly $1,200 every time a patient is admitted to the hospital. Reducing administrative activities related to regulatory compliance will allow clinicians to spend more time on patients rather than paperwork, and will support a level regulatory playing field.

Medical Liability Reform

Reduce unnecessary costs in the system by passing comprehensive medical liability reform, including caps on non-economic damages and allowing courts to limit attorneys’ contingency fees.