Patient groups applaud progress, call on Congress to permanently end surprise medical billing
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 16, 2020 — The 31 undersigned organizations, representing millions of patients and consumers across the country who face serious, acute, and chronic health conditions, applaud Congressional committee leaders for reaching a bicameral and bipartisan agreement to address surprise medical billing and urge Congress to quickly enact it.
The No Surprises Act represents a significant step toward the goal of ending surprise medical billing and is an improvement for patients over the status quo. While the bill addresses a longstanding and pervasive problem, the agreement comes amid media reports of patients receiving surprise medical bills stemming from COVID treatment, despite Congressional attempts to insulate patients from this practice for COVID-related services. Patients are frustrated that they continue to be exposed to this predatory practice at a time when they are concerned about their physical and financial wellbeing. We urge lawmakers to advance this legislation before this Congress adjourns.
Surprise billing affects millions of patients each year and has been a serious concern for our organizations. We have worked closely with Congress to build a legislative solution that holds patients harmless and have repeatedly implored Congress to not let this work go to waste as this congressional session comes to close. We are grateful to see momentum emerge around the No Surprises Act, and we hope, for the sake of the patients we represent, that Congress can work quickly to enact this bipartisan legislation that will address the ever growing problem of surprise billing and lower patients’ health care costs.
ALS Association
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Diabetes Association
American Heart Association
American Kidney Fund
American Lung Association
Arthritis Foundation
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
CancerCare
Cancer Support Community
Crohn's & Colitis Foundation
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Epilepsy Foundation
Family Voices
Hemophilia Federation of America
JDRF
Mended Hearts & Mended Little Hearts
Muscular Dystrophy Association
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Health Council
National Hemophilia Foundation
National Kidney Foundation
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Organization for Rare Disorders
National Patient Advocate Foundation
National Psoriasis Foundation
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Susan G. Komen
The AIDS Institute
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease
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