February 3, 2022
Mental Health
  • Eleven groups wrote a letter to HHS voicing concerns with the price transparency provision of the law to ban surprise billing. The provision requires most licensed medical practitioners to give patients detailed upfront cost estimates, including a diagnosis, and information about the length and costs involved in a typical course of treatment. According to the groups – including the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Psychiatric Association, and the Psychotherapy Action Network – the rule is unfitting for mental health because diagnoses can take time and sometimes change over the course of treatment. As such, they requested an exemption from the “good faith” estimates for routine mental and behavioral health services. (Article here)