Senate Lands On a Benchmark Payment Rate As Surprise Billing Fix

Updated Story The Senate health committee's final health care cost-cutting legislation attempts to curb surprise medical bills by setting a benchmark payment rate at the median rate for a geographic area for out-of-network care, a decision likely to anger providers who have blasted the policy as government price-setting and likened it to ‘Medicare for All.” The bill, set to be marked up next Wednesday (June 26), also extends the benchmark to air ambulance bills. The committee’s updated...