No Suprise Act Definition
The No Surprises Act provides patients with protection from surprise medical bills under certain circumstances. It also mandates transparency regarding healthcare costs and holds patients liable for in-network cost-sharing amounts only. The link provided below gives more details about the information. You can also scroll to the bottom of the page to read more information taken directly from the counseling.com website. A service cost estimation form has been included to be completed during the intake process.
The No Surprises Act aims to increase price transparency and reduce the likelihood that clients receive a “surprise” medical bill by requiring that providers inform clients of an expected charge for a service before the service is provided. The government will also soon issue regulations requiring behavioral health providers to give similar good faith estimates to commercial or government insurers, when the client plans to use medical insurance.
Consumers will also have new billing protections when getting emergency care, non-emergency care from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities, and air ambulance services from out-of-network providers. Through new rules aimed to protect consumers, excessive out-of-pocket costs will be restricted, and emergency services must continue to be covered without any prior authorization, and regardless of whether or not a provider or facility is in-network.
This new requirement was finalized on October 7, 2021. These regulations implement part of the “No Surprises Act,” originally enacted in December 2020 as part of a broad package of COVID-19 and spending-related legislation. This consumer protection legislation is aligned with professional counseling ethics regarding our duty to promote client welfare and protect against potential harm. The ACA Code of Ethics (Section A.2.b) stipulates that counselor must inform their clients about fees and billing practices.