Federal “No Surprises Act” Now in Effect


The federal “No Surprises Act” went into effect on January 1, 2022. The new law, rules and regulations establish federal protections against most surprise out-of-network medical bills when a patient receives out-of-network services during an emergency visit or from a provider at an in-network hospital without advance notice. The No Surprises Act prohibits providers from billing patients more than the applicable in-network cost sharing amount in these situations. Effective January 1, 2022, providers will need to find out patient’s insurance status before submitting the “surprise” out-of-network bill directly to the health plan. Providers must also be prepared to provide “good faith estimates” (GFE) to patients looking for care.

The following provide more details about the provisions contained in the new law now in effect: