It shouldn't come as a surprise, probably, that a new and rival bill aimed at tackling the issue of surprise medical bills could derail what looked like easy passage for a piece of legislation already in the works.

The Hill reports that in the wake of a bipartisan deal by the Energy and Commerce Committee on a surprise medical bill measure—one that had the support of Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-TN—the House Ways and Means Committee has unveiled its own take on the measure.

This new proposal, from Representatives Richard Neal, D-MA, and Kevin Brady, R-TX, the chairman and ranking member of the panel, is likely to mean that there will be no speedy resolution to the issue.

Instead of the Energy and Commerce approach, which would basically set "a payment rate based on the average price for that service in the geographic area," according to The Hill, the Ways and Means bill "would at first let insurers and doctors try to work out payment on their own, and if they cannot come to agreement, an arbitration process would begin."

The White House, according to Energy and Commerce, backs its bill, but the introduction of a competing form of legislation threatens what looked as if it could be swift passage. Legislators had hoped to deal with the surprise billing issue in this calendar year, but they're running out of days in session to get the job done.

Representative Donna Shalala, D-FL, an author of one of the measures, said that it's unlikely any real action will happen this year since the three different committees that have jurisdiction over the issue haven't managed to agree. In fact, a markup in the Education and Labor Committee got stalled back in September and hasn't yet been rescheduled, and only Energy and Commerce has actually passed anything.

According to Shalala, "Ways and Means hasn't weighed in yet, and we just have to reach an agreement;" she estimates that no floor vote will take place till January or February.

Read more:

Instant Insights /

Rival surprise medical billing measure could derail speedy passage

More From HR Executive

Related Stories

Recommended For You