Several healthcare executives in Massachusetts, including the president and CEO of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, have called on state officials to regulate out-of-network billing practices, according to the Boston Business Journal.
Members of the state's provider price variation commission met Nov. 29 for the fourth time to examine the differences in how much hospitals charge for the same service. The governor charged the commission with the task of suggesting regulations to state officials.
The commission has examined a number of proposed regulations, including setting a default reimbursement rate for patients that receive out-of-network care and mandating that patients not be held accountable for surprise billing charges in some scenarios, according to the article.
Members of the commission include Marylou Sudders, secretary of the executive office of HHS and Stuart Altman, chairman of the state's healthcare watchdog The Health Policy Commission.
The commission will negotiate the specifics of the proposed regulations within a subcommittee before voting on which regulations to recommend to the state.