Are We Really Going to See the End of Surprise Medical Bills in 2022?

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New legislation to protect people from surprise medical bills is set to take effect in January 2022. Getty Images
  • Many people in the United States are subject to surprise medical bills, which are often very expensive.
  • A surprise medical bill occurs when a person seeks care at an in-network hospital or healthcare facility but is treated by an out-of-network physician.
  • The No Surprises Act, which is set to take effect in January 2022, will protect people from receiving these surprise medical bills.

New legislation is set to take effect in January 2022 that is meant to end so-called surprise medical bills for people receiving emergency care and other health services in the United States.

The No Surprises Act, which Congress passed and former President Donald Trump signed into law in December, received widespread bipartisan support.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration issued an interim final rule, the first step of finalizing the details of the law.

But what does this law mean? Will Americans really see an end to surprise medical bills?

Healthline spoke with two experts in healthcare policy and medical billing to suss out the details.

Source: healthline