New federal transparency rules that protect you
Starting in January 2022, the first of several federal transparency regulations (No Surprises Act/Transparency in Coverage) began. These regulations are straightforward: to make it easy for individuals to find accurate health care price information and make informed decisions about their care.
No Surprises Act
Effective January 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act provides protections against surprise billing, or balance billing, under medical plans, such as those offered by Veradigm.
When you receive emergency care or are treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, you have protection from surprise billing. What is “surprise billing”? When you see a doctor or other health care provider, you may owe certain out-of-pocket costs, such as a copayment, coinsurance, and/or a deductible. You may also have other costs or have to pay the entire bill if you see a provider or visit a health care facility that is out-of-network.
Under the No Surprises Act, you are protected from surprise billing in certain circumstances, such as:
- Emergency services. If you have an emergency medical condition and get emergency services from an out-of-network provider or facility, the most the provider or facility may bill you is your plan’s in network cost-sharing amount (such as copayments and coinsurance). You can’t be balance billed for these emergency services. This includes services you may get after you’re in stable condition, unless you give written consent to be balanced billed for these post-stabilization services. The No Surprises Act defines which types of services fall into these categories.
- Certain services at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center. When you receive services from an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, certain providers there may be out-of-network.
Learn more about your rights under the No Surprises Act.
Transparency in Coverage
Under federal Transparency in Coverage rules, health plans must publish detailed pricing data for covered services. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina complies with this requirement by posting machine-readable files that show in-network and out-of-network provider rates.
These files are updated monthly and are designed for technical users such as researchers and developers. Because of their format, they may not be useful for everyday comparison or decision-making.