Medical Bill Other options the committee considered to address surprise bills included arbitration and an in-network guarantee. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions has unveiled its effort at legislation to rein in health care costs, as well as a federal benchmark to resolve the issue of “surprise” medical bills.

As reported by Politico, the benchmark drafted to tackle surprise bills is a different solution from the remedy that HELP Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-TN, has previously expressed support for—what’s termed an “in-network guarantee.” That approach would have required all physicians at the same facility to be considered in-network—and was opposed, naturally enough, by physician groups. A third option that was considered and rejected was arbitration.

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Marlene Satter

Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.

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