Surprise Billing Disputes Far Outpace Federal Projection

The federal government received 13 times more surprise billing disputes in the first half of 2023 than it initially estimated to receive over the course of a full calendar year, according to new CMS data.

The No Surprises Act (NSA), passed in 2021, established a Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process that out-of-network providers and insurers can use to determine the OON rate for qualified IDR items or services after an unsuccessful open negotiation period. That process replaces the pre-NSA status quo of an OON provider sending a surprise bill to a patient. Of the 288,810 disputes filed through the Federal IDR portal over the first six months of 2023, about 46% were closed, with providers winning 77% of payment determinations.