26:2SS-2 Findings, declarations relative to out-of-network health care charges.

2. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. The health care delivery system in New Jersey needs reforms that will enhance consumer protections, create a system to resolve certain health care billing disputes, contain rising costs, and measure success with respect to these goals;

b. Despite existing State and federal laws and regulations to protect against certain surprise out-of-network charges, these charges continue to pose a problem for health care consumers in New Jersey. Many consumers find themselves with surprise bills for hospital emergency room procedures or for charges by providers that the consumer had no choice in selecting;

c. While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act added new patient protections requiring federally-regulated group health plans to reimburse for out-of-network emergency service by paying the greatest of three possible amounts: (1) the amount negotiated with in-network providers for the emergency service furnished; (2) the amount for the emergency service calculated using the same method the plan generally uses to determine payments for out-of-network services; or (3) the amount that would be paid under Medicare for the emergency service, patients continue to face out-of-network charges for surprise bills;

d. Out-of-network benefits are a health insurance benefit enhancement for which insureds pay an additional premium, but in recent years, out-of-network coverage has been used inappropriately as a means to diminish consumers' health insurance coverage, exposing consumers to additional costs;

e. Carriers and consumers continue to report exorbitant charges by certain health care professionals and facilities for out-of-network services, including balance billing, and in certain cases, consumers' bills are referred to collection, which contributes to the increasing costs of health care services and insurance and imposes hardships on health care consumers;

f. Health care providers and hospitals report that inadequate reimbursement from carriers and government payers is causing financial stress on safety net hospitals, deteriorating morale among providers and reduced quality of care for consumers;

g. It is, therefore, in the public interest to reform the health care delivery system in New Jersey to enhance consumer protections, create a system to resolve certain health care billing disputes, contain rising costs, and measure success with respect to these goals.

L.2018, c.32, s.2.