The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recently joined the American Medical Association and dozens of national medical specialty societies in signing onto a letter to federal agencies calling for stronger enforcement and improved implementation of the No Surprises Act. The letter was sent to leadership at the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, and Department of the Treasury, highlighting ongoing concerns with how the law is being operationalized.
While the No Surprises Act was designed to protect patients from unexpected medical bills and promote fair payment through the Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process, physicians, including sleep medicine clinicians, continue to experience significant challenges. The letter outlined several troubling trends, including inappropriate cost-shifting to patients, misuse of regulatory guidance to reopen closed IDR cases, lack of transparency in payment calculations, and failure by some health plans to make timely and complete payments following binding IDR decisions.
The letter urges federal agencies to take targeted action to address these issues, including increasing oversight, improving transparency requirements, and enforcing statutory payment timelines. Strengthening enforcement is essential to preserving the balance Congress intended, protecting patients while ensuring physicians are fairly reimbursed for the care they provide.
The AASM remains committed to advocating for policies that support sleep medicine clinicians and their patients and will continue to work with federal partners to improve the implementation of the No Surprises Act.
Questions about the No Suprises Act may be sent to coding@aasm.org.
