As payers brace for the implementation of the federal No Surprises Act on Jan. 1, the health insurance industry at large isn't expected to experience a significant financial shift, according to a Dec. 16 Fitch Ratings report.
The research and credit insight group anticipates the act's rollout will be credit neutral throughout the industry, despite payers no longer being able to conduct emergency care-related balance billing. Under the new rule, insurers cannot bill members for the difference between in-network and out-of-network if a patient sought emergency care at an out-of-network provider.
According to the Fitch Ratings analysis, the group anticipates that insurers will be able to balance the incurred costs broadly with premium rate adjustments.
While consumers will benefit from more uniform protections against surprise billing, the report predicts that the cost of payers adjusting to the No Surprises Act will be broadly integrated into premiums.