- Home
- Advocacy
- Latest News and Practice Data
- Advocacy Win: Washington State Pathologists, CAP Deter Move to Federal IDR System
The Washington State Pathology Society (WSSP), in collaboration with the CAP, and the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA), delayed a switch from the states’ balance billing dispute resolution process to the federal independent dispute resolution system for at least six months (January 1, 2024).
On February 27, the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner released the decision to delay the transition to the federal No Surprises Act independent dispute resolution process (IDR) for at least six months.
Previously, the insurance commissioner requested information on whether to transition to the federal IDR process on July 1, 2023 or continue to utilize the state’s arbitration system to resolve out-of-network disputes.
In 2022, the WSSP, the CAP, and the WMSA opposed legislative changes, since enacted, to supplant the current state’s arbitration process with the federal IDR system.
Following the federal court decision on February 6 that invalidated portions of the federal arbitration process, the WSMA and the coalition noted, “Subsequently (The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) CMS has paused use of the IDR system while federal regulators evaluate and update the IDR process to make it consistent with the latest Texas Medical Association (TMA) decision. And meanwhile, other lawsuits against the IDR system are still pending. It’s prudent for the state to maintain its arbitration system under the Balance Billing Protection Act (BBPA) while the legal challenges play out and the federal law continues to coalesce.”
The insurance commissioner will issue an update on or before September 1, 2023. The CAP will continue to work with the WSSP and the WSMA to delay future transitions.