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- Physician groups urge Congress to enforce No Surprises Act payments
The College of American Pathologists joined dozens of national medical specialty societies and state medical associations urging Congress to advance bipartisan legislation to strengthen enforcement of the No Surprises Act.
The impact: The law protects patients from surprise medical bills, but physicians report delayed or missing payments after Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) decisions.
The issue:
- Physicians report payments are not made within the required 30-day timeframe following IDR determinations.
- Some physicians report receiving no payment at all, despite decisions being final and binding.
- Practices absorb unpaid costs while insurers retain funds they are legally obligated to pay.
What the bill does: The No Surprises Act Enforcement Act (H.R. 4710 / S. 2420) would authorize penalties for parties that do not comply with statutory payment timelines after IDR decisions, giving federal agencies clear authority to enforce determinations.
Go deeper: Read the joint letter urging Congress to strengthen enforcement of the No Surprises Act.