3-MINUTE READ
On July 1, 2021, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, along with the Office of Personnel Management (collectively, the Departments), issued an interim final rule (IFR) to explain provisions of the No Surprises Act (the Act) that passed as part of sweeping COVID-19 relief legislation signed in December 2020. The Act and IFR aim to protect consumers from excessive out-of-pocket costs resulting from surprise and balance medical billing. This Advisor is the second in a series that provides a high-level summary of the IFR and its impact on employer plan sponsors.
Background
Generally, under the Act and the IFR, group health plans, or health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage, that provide or cover any benefits for services in an emergency department of a hospital (including a hospital outpatient department that provides emergency services) or an independent freestanding emergency department (in-network or out-of-network, also referred to as participating and nonparticipating), must cover the emergency services with no pre-authorization and without regard to any other term or condition of such coverage (other than exclusion or coordination of benefits, or an affiliation or waiting period, permitted under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), and incorporated pursuant to ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code, and other applicable cost-sharing).
If the emergency services are provided by a non-participating provider or non-participating emergency facility, the plan or issuer must cover the emergency services without imposing requirements for prior authorization or any limitation on coverage that is more restrictive than the requirements or limitations that apply to emergency services received from participating providers and participating emergency facilities. Also, a plan may not apply higher cost-sharing than would apply if emergency services were provided by a participating provider or a participating emergency facility.
Download the full Advisor for more on:
- The Interim Final Rule
- Participant complaints and DOL investigations
- Plan notice requirements
- Effective date of the Interim Final Rule
This information has been prepared for UBA by Fisher & Phillips LLP. It is general and is provided for educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice. You should not act on this information without consulting legal counsel or other knowledgeable advisors.
