Stymied in Bid to Expand Site-Neutral Pay Policies, Payers Support Transparent Billing

For years, payers and plan sponsors have pushed to broaden so-called site neutral policies, which generally aim to prevent hospital outpatient departments from commanding greater reimbursement for the same services as those provided in doctor’s offices. In the latest salvo, the sponsors of newly proposed legislation are aiming for a seemingly easier-to-achieve goal: billing transparency. 

That legislation, sponsored by Reps. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) and Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), is called the Facilitating Accountability in Reimbursements (FAIR) Act. The legislation would require all off-campus hospital outpatient departments to have separate national provider identification (NPI) numbers by Jan. 1, 2025. It would also direct CMS to prioritize auditing provider facilities that were recently purchased by large health systems “to ensure they are meeting the remote location of a hospital facility requirements,” according to Hern’s office.