Surprise Air Ambulance Bills Are More Eye-Popping To Individuals, But Overall Ground Transportation Is More Expensive

Modern Healthcare: Ground Ambulance Surprise Bills Cost More In Total Than Air Ambulances
Congress hasn’t focused much on surprise medical billing by ground ambulances, even though researchers found that they bill more in total than air ambulances. However, out-of-network bills for air ambulances were much more expensive for consumers that receive them, researchers from the University of Michigan found in a study published Wednesday in Health Affairs. The authors said this is the first study to document potential costs for patients when plans don’t pay for out-of-network ambulance transports. (Cohrs, 4/16)

Modern Healthcare: One In 12 Ambulatory Surgery Center Visits May Result In A Surprise Bill
About one in 12 visits to in-network ambulatory surgery centers may result in a surprise medical bill from an out-of-network provider, according to a study published Wednesday in Health Affairs. On average, the surprise medical bills would potentially have left patients on the hook for $1,141, the study found. Most of the time, the cases that could have resulted in a surprise bill involved an out-of-network anesthesiologist or registered nurse anesthetist. (Livingston, 4/16)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Wants To Boost Inpatient Rehab Payments By 2.9% In 2021
The CMS Thursday proposed to increase Medicare payments to inpatient rehabilitation facilities by 2.9%, or $270 million, in 2021. That figure is based on an estimated 2.5% increase factor plus a 0.4% boost in aggregate payments to peg outlier payments at 3.0% of total payments. The agency also suggested applying a 5% cap on wage index decreases from fiscal year 2020 to 2021, as per the Office of Management and Budget’s statistical area delineations. (Brady, 4/16)

Modern Healthcare: HCA Agrees To Refund Mission Health Patients, Reverse Billing Change
HCA Healthcare has agreed to drop new fees it added for visits to Mission Health’s cancer centers, primary care clinics, surgery centers and other specialty clinics and issue refunds to patients who paid them. The Nashville-based hospital chain made the change in response to an inquiry from North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein. In a letter to Stein last week, Nashville-based HCA acknowledged that a billing change it implemented across the Mission system on Aug. 1, 2019 created confusion, and agreed to refund affected patients and return to its previous billing method. The letter did not address other concerns Stein had raised. (Bannow, 4/14)