HHS to Appeal Texas Ruling That Struck Down Key Parts of Surprise Billing Rule

The Department of Health and Human Services announced in a legal filing late Friday that it is appealing the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The decision to appeal the ruling originally issued back in February comes as HHS has other legal fights over the regulation.

Last fall the Texas Medical Association filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas charging the rule which bans surprise billing conflicts with lawmakers’ intent and HHS bypassed notice and comment regulations.

The lawsuit is one of several filed by provider groups over a final rule HHS released last year outlining how to implement the No Surprises Act. The rule outlined the provisions for setting up an arbitration process for handling disputes between providers and payers for out-of-network charges.

Source: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/hhs-appeal-texas-ruling-struck-down-key-parts-surprise-billing-rule