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    Becerra defends HHS rules aimed at reining in surprise medical bills

    Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says health providers who have exploited a complicated system to charge exorbitant rates will have to bear their share of the cost — or close.
    by Michael McAuliff Nov 22, 2021 4 minutes
    HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra says doctors in Congress who are balking at the rules of the "No Surprises Act" aren't looking out for patients. "I don't think when someone is overcharging, that it's going to hurt the overcharger to now have to [accept] a fair price," Becerra says. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Biden team's rules would push insurance premiums down by 0.5% to 1%.

    Overpriced doctors and other medical providers who can't charge a reasonable rate for their services could be put out of business when new rules against surprise medical bills take effect in January, and that's a good thing, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says, in defending the regulations.

    The proposed rules represent the Biden administration's plan to carry out the No Surprises Act, which Congress passed to spare patients from the shockingly high bills they get when one or more of their providers unexpectedly turn out to be outside their insurance plan's network.

    The law-- set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2022 --shields patients from those bills, requiring providers and insurers to work out how much the physicians or hospitals should be paid, first through negotiation and then, if they can't agree, arbitration.

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