Radiology, anesthesiology, emergency medicine groups blast bill to kill surprise-billing arbitration

The ACR, ASA, and ACEP warn a bill to eliminate surprise-billing arbitration would remove a critical safeguard, as data show nearly 40% of insurer offers were at/below benchmark rates, with 8% at $1 or less.

• The bill would replace independent dispute resolution with payment based on the median in-network rate, requiring insurers to pay within 30 days but imposing no penalties for noncompliance.
• Physician groups argue the move is premature and would hand insurers control over payments, removing the independent check that routinely rejects unreasonably low offers.
• ACR-led analysis submitted to Congress shows insurers failed to participate in arbitration 25% of the time, and nearly 40% of payer offers were at or below the qualifying payment amount.

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