The No Surprises Act legislation became effective January 1, 2020. It prevents patients from getting surprise medical bills for emergency and nonemergency services.
The No Surprises Act rules apply to:
- Self-paying patients or commercially insured patients who choose not to use their benefits who receives bills for substantially more than they expected
- An insured patient who receives an unexpected bill from an out-of-network provider or facility for certain emergency or nonemergency services
Note: No Surprises Act does not apply to beneficiaries or enrollees in federal programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Administration, Indian Healthcare Services or TRICARE. These programs have other protections against surprise medical bills.
Advanced Notice and Consent In limited situations, the No Surprises Act allows some out-of-network providers and facilities to seek written consent from individuals to voluntarily waive their protection against balance billing for post-stabilization services or non-ancillary, non-emergency services.
