Visiting a healthcare provider in-network can definitely save you time and money. However, have you heard of surprise billing?

Surprise billing is used to describe a situation where a patient visits an in-network facility, but is treated by an out-of-network specialist, and then billed for those services unexpectedly. This not only creates frustration in our clients, but it adds additional financial pressure on them as well.

In an attempt to solve this problem, Georgia passed House Bill 789 on November 1, 2020. Under this new bill, when an insurance company advertises a hospital as in-network, the insurer will be required to disclose that hospital’s “surprise bill rating.” If the hospital’s rating is less than four, the insurer will have to disclose which of the four specialties are not in its network.

This new legislation will apply to anesthesiologists, pathologists, radiologists and emergency room doctors, since most surprise billings stem from these services. According to the Walker County Messenger, this new law will go a long way towards easing patient concerns over how much their health care will cost.

Click here to check out the article: https://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/catoosa_walker_news/new-georgia-law-aims-at transparency-in-health-insurance-plans/article_b7ed7854-17c5-11eb-9ee7-5f2b9839b2e9.html