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The Latest: Trump says time to end ‘surprise medical bills’
The Associated Press
May 09, 2019 09:44 AM
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President Trump speaks at a rally in Panama City Beach, Fla., Wednesday, May 8, 2019.
Gerald Herbert
AP Photo
WASHINGTON
The Latest on President Donald Trump’s effort to limit “surprise medical bills” (all times local):
12:40 p.m.
President Donald Trump says it’s time to end “surprise medical bills,” which can leave insured patients facing sticker shock from charges submitted by doctors outside their insurers’ networks.
Trump spoke at the White House on Thursday to lend his support to efforts by Republican and Democratic lawmakers. White House aides outlined a set of principles for legislation.
Trump was joined by a heart attack patient who got a $110,000 bill even though he had health insurance and by another patient who was charged $17,850 for a test that would have cost $100 in her insurer’s network.
Trump says he thinks legislation can move quickly and “Democrats and Republicans can do this.”
Insurers form networks of doctors and hospitals, in part, to gain leverage for negotiating reimbursements. Usually patients pay a bigger share of the bill for any care sought outside those networks.
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10 a.m.
President Donald Trump wants to limit “surprise medical bills,” the unexpected charges faced by insured patients when a member of a health care team that treated them is considered an out-of-network provider.
Senior administration officials tell The Associated Press the Republican president on Thursday will outline principles he can support as part of legislation to limit such billing practices. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have expressed interest in crafting legislation to tackle the subject.
Insurers form networks of doctors and hospitals, in part, to gain some leverage for negotiating reimbursements. Usually patients pay a bigger share of the bill for any care sought outside those networks.
The administration officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter before Trump’s announcement.