A workforce group takes aim at part of the No Surprises Act and asks HHS to act.
The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) released a letter to HHS regarding the No Surprises Act.
The workgroup takes aim at the good faith estimate (GFE) convening provider/facility provision saying it has significant concerns with how this part of the act can be successfully adopted by two providers.
In the letter, WEDI recommends HHS consider an initial phase of the GFE requirement initiated by a patient request, extend the enforcement discretion period, identify standards-based solutions, and phase in the one- and three-day time requirement.
WEDI says these issues should be expeditiously addressed by HHS to ensure successful implementation of the legislative provisions of the act.
This letter comes on the heels of a WEDI survey saying that the absence of a standardized data exchange puts a significant burden on providers and facilities.
According to that survey, 83.1% of providers say they are somewhat or strongly in support of the government delaying the requirement for convening providers/facilities to obtain a GFE from any co-provider until there is a standardized data exchange process in place. Only 7% are somewhat or strongly opposed, while 4.4% are neutral.
"While the No Surprises Act includes much needed consumer protections against catastrophic 'surprise' bills, it also includes challenging data exchange provisions such as the convening provider/facility requirement," stated Charles Stellar, WEDI president and CEO.
"Even though the government plans to end enforcement discretion for self-pay patients at the end of this year, currently there is no standard format or established workflow to transmit data to or from the convenor."
WEDI says it has offered its assistance as HHS develops supporting regulations and builds outreach programs to educate impacted stakeholders.
Amanda Norris is the Director of Content for HealthLeaders.