Source: Niskanen Center
by Lawson Mansell & Sage Mehta
“In December 2020, Congress passed the No Surprises Act (NSA) to shield patients from unexpected medical bills. Since taking effect in 2022, the law has been largely successful in protecting patients from high charges stemming from inadvertent out-of-network care. To resolve these out-of-network payment disputes, Congress established an independent dispute resolution (IDR) program in which arbitrators choose between competing payment offers. However, early data from 2023 showed that case volumes were higher than expected—and that arbitrators are selecting the higher payment offer in most cases—raising concerns that the process may be driving up overall healthcare costs rather than saving federal dollars as expected.” (06/18/25)