On January 1, 2020, the state’s Balance Billing Protection Act (BBPA) became effective. Yesterday, WSHA released an updated bulletin that summarizes key provisions of the act and includes links to information and resources that were not available earlier. We recommend appropriate staff at hospitals and physician groups, in conjunction with their legal counsel, familiarize themselves with the information and links within the bulletin to ensure compliance with the act. The new information includes links to the final rule, arbitration information, standard notice of consumer rights, BBPA eligibility lookup information, and instructional webinars.
The BBPA includes balance billing prohibitions for certain services, a dispute resolution process for payments for out-of-network services, and various communication and transparency requirements. WSHA worked hard during the legislative and rulemaking process to ensure a fair dispute resolution process for facilities and providers and minimize administrative burden. (Andrew Busz, AndrewB@wsha.org)
