Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to tweak its No Surprises Act policies, the agency updated its tools with a new online resource.

Background: Last year, Congress issued the No Surprises Act as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Then in July, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury, in coordination with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), released an interim final rule with comment period (IFC) titled “Requirements Related to Surprise Billing: Part I,” which outlined the basics of the feds’ policies (see Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement, Vol. 47, No. 14).

In October, the Departments published another IFC — “Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part II” — which offered further guidance and implementation details for the No Surprises Act, focusing on the independent dispute resolution process and other provisions on consumer protections (see Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement, Vol. 47, No. 21).

In its efforts to end surprise billing and update providers on the latest news, CMS devised a website that puts all the information in one place. The online tools offer links to the reviews, CMS fact sheets, and provider resources. There is also a “see what’s coming” link that prepares Medicare providers for the next round of surprise billing regulatory reform.

Additionally, the website provides advice on consumer protections as well as an application for organizations to get certified to resolve disputes.

Visit the No Surprise Act website at www.cms.gov/nosurprises.