How a Maine health system's ER physician deal could affect patient billing

Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health — formerly Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems — is outsourcing its emergency room physicians to TeamHealth this year, a move that could negatively affect patients' out-of-pocket costs, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Here are four things to know:

1. Beginning early this year, many physicians with several Northern Light Health hospitals will start working for Knoxville, Tenn.-based physician staffing firm TeamHealth. Under Northern Light Health's contract, TeamHealth will employ the emergency medicine physicians and hospitalists that staff the system's hospitals.

2. As a result, patients who receive care from the contracted physicians will be billed separately by TeamHealth, in addition to any charges from Northern Light Health. Patients, then, will need to ensure TeamHealth is in network with their health insurance plan, otherwise they could risk paying much larger out-of-network rates through balance-billing practices.

3. At the start of 2018, a law took effect in Maine that aims to protect patients from balance billing tactics, often referred to as "surprise billing." Northern Light Health's new deal with TeamHealth could test the strength of the regulation, according to the Bangor Daily News.

4. For Northern Light Health's part, the system said the deal will help fill vacant positions and spur more efficient care. Northern Light Health administrators also told the publication that patients' same insurance plans should still be in network with TeamHealth. However, a TeamHealth spokesperson said the staffing firm may send out-of-network bills to Maine patients.

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