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Protecting patients from surprise medical bills

Past Event

Solving surprise medical bills

Addressing the Growing Problem of Surprise Medical Bills: Stakeholder Perspectives
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Addressing the Growing Problem of Surprise Medical Bills: Stakeholder Perspectives

Addressing he Growing Problem of Surprise Medical Bills: Policymaker and Policy Thinker Perspectives
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Addressing he Growing Problem of Surprise Medical Bills: Policymaker and Policy Thinker Perspectives

Every year, millions of Americans are surprised to receive staggering medical bills after emergency or routine care from a provider they had no idea was outside of their insurers’ network—and often had no control in choosing. While one study in New York of large surprise bills for emergency care found that patients were billed over $3,500 on average, extreme cases can result in bills topping $250,000. Even careful planning may not always prevent patients from receiving surprise bills, as one in five non-elderly adults had received care at a hospital they thought was in-network but were still billed by a non-covered physician, whether an anesthesiologist, consulting surgeon, or other doctor. Yet, while stakeholders and policy experts agree this problem needs to be addressed, they disagree on how to tackle it.

On Thursday, October 13, the Schaeffer Initiative for Innovation in Health Policy released a white paper, “Solving Surprise Medical Bills,” and hosted an event bringing together representatives from health systems, insurers, and consumer advocacy groups, as well as policymakers and experts, to discuss solutions to comprehensively reduce surprise billing scenarios and resolve disputes over reimbursement for out-of-network care. The Schaeffer Initiative is a collaboration between the USC Schaeffer Center and the Brookings Center for Health Policy.

Follow us on Twitter @BrookingsEcon and @SchaefferCenter and use #SurpriseBilling.

Agenda

Introduction and Welcome

Leonard D. Schaeffer

Judge Robert Maclay Widney Chair and Professor - USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and USC Price School of Public Policy

Trustee - University of Southern California

Trustee - Brookings Institution

Presentation of "Solving Surprise Medical Bills"

Panel #1: Addressing the Growing Problem of Surprise Medical Bills: Stakeholder Perspectives

Tom Priselac

President and CEO - Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Break

Addressing the Growing Problem of Surprise Medical Bills: Policymaker and Policy Thinker Perspectives

Zack Cooper

Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Economics - Yale University

Jack Hoadley

Research Professor - Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University

Neeraj Sood

Professor, Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs, Vice Dean for Research - USC Price School of Public Policy, USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics

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