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Congress Tackles Overpriced ‘Surprise’ Medical Bills, Taking Several Different Tacks

 
• By Sue Darcey

A trio of legislative proposals to lower high-cost “surprise” medical bills that limit what physicians and hospitals, labs, and imaging facilities can charge patients, emerged this winter from three different US congressional committees with health care jurisdiction. Check out our detailed chart that sorts out some of the provisions of the bills of interest to device and diagnostics firms.

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Congress is zeroing in on so-called “surprise billing” legislation this February and March, an issue that has been spurred to front-and-center attention over the past year by consumer complaints that health care costs – both for emergency and planned procedures – contain too many unknowns.

US senators and representatives also heard tales of high prices for surgical procedures and ancillary services, including laboratory tests, advanced imaging and anesthesia. (Also see "2020 Outlook: US Congress...

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