I would like to welcome the newest member of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) team, Brian Johnson. Brian is from New Jersey and is currently a student at American University. Brian will be helping us with the Coalition Against Rate-Setting and other healthcare issues. Brian started this week and I can tell you that he is already contributing in a big way. We are excited to have Brian on the team.

Surprise Billing Coalition Launches
I have been in Washington, D.C. for 27 years so, as you can imagine, I have met a lot of people. Some of my best friends work for other taxpayer and free-market groups. That’s why it was such a pleasure to form the Coalition Against Rate-Setting ([link removed]) . I was able to join forces with my friends at other organizations such as the 60 Plus Association, Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Limited Government, Campaign for Liberty, Center for a Free Economy, Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Center for Individual Freedom, Citizens Against Government Waste, Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, Heritage Action for America, Hispanic Leadership Fund, Market Institute, and National Taxpayers Union to help solve the problem of surprise medical bills. Millions of Americans have received surprise medical bills in the mail weeks, or even months, after receiving emergency services at in-network facilities. Policymakers correctly sense that they must act to prevent this pressing issue.
But some lawmakers insist on using federal fiat to impose rate-setting on America’s medical providers. That’s where the Coalition steps in. We want to solve the surprise medical billing problem with as little government intervention as possible. The Coalition Against Rate-Setting was formed in reaction to proposals for the federal government to set prices in the healthcare sector, despite a lengthy track record of failures caused by government overreach. These price controls would be a disaster for patients and our nation’s healthcare system overall.
California’s Surprise Billing Misstep is No Surprise
This probably doesn’t surprise you, but California tried to fix the surprise medical billing issue and…messed it up. A 2017 law meant to stop surprise medical billing has led to increased costs and the consolidation of doctor’s offices across the state. But our story begins in 2010, when Obamacare hoisted expansive requirements on insurers to cover newly-defined “essential benefits” such as smoking cessation and maternity care coverage that millions of Californians did not want or need. As a result of narrowing networks under Obamacare, insurers such as Anthem California had less revenues to offer doctors the pay they deserve, resulting in networks that excluded doctors in costly specialties such as anesthesiology. As a result, around three-quarters of Obamacare plans offered in California have narrow networks, resulting in the medical billing disputes that patients fear and loathe. Enter the California State Legislature, who decided that the only way to deal with this government-created
issue was to…further increase regulation. Assembly Bill 72, which kicked in on July 1, 2017, requires that physicians accept the average insurance rate for services provided to patients (or 125 percent of the Medicare rate), even when such arbitrarily-defined rates are far lower than the costs of the physician’s time. Two and a half years after the bill’s enactment, the results are in: doctors’ statewide pay was slashed pretty much overnight, resulting in small practices struggling to keep their heads above water.
According to a 2019 American Journal of Managed Care study by USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative scholar Dr. Erin Duffy, doctors and hospitals increasingly cite consolidation as a growing problem in response to the 2017 law. Strength in numbers is seen as a necessary xxxxxx against pay declines and the decreased willingness by insurers to negotiate with physicians. Some doctors interviewed by Dr. Duffy expressed concerns with recruiting high-caliber employees, and even contemplated practicing healthcare in another state.
Unsurprisingly, consolidation isn’t popular among patients who have relied on their local doctor’s office for decades. According to data from the California Department of Managed Health Care, care access complaints have skyrocketed from 415 in 2016 to 614 in 2018, an increase of nearly 50 percent.

Florida’s Solution Puts Patients First
There haven’t been many cases where people have said, “hey, look, Florida is doing something right,” because we have all heard the crazy Florida stories such as a man trying to swap his pet baby alligator for a six-pack of beer. But it does look like they have found a solution to surprise billing. According to WUSF News ([link removed]) , “Florida's law provides a process for doctors and insurance companies to work out billing disputes without costing patients more. When a patient is seen by an out-of-network doctor at an in-network hospital, Florida’s law says patients are only responsible for paying the doctor an in-network fee. It's up to doctors and insurance companies to work out the remainder of the bill. The law provides a process for those negotiations.” This is a great template for states and the federal government.


Blogs:


** Wednesday: Taxpayer, Consumer Groups Launch Coalition Against Healthcare Rate-Setting ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** Thursday: Healthcare Sharing Ministries Are a Godsend to More than a Million Patients ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** Friday: Iran’s online blackouts show why governments shouldn’t control the internet ([link removed])

------------------------------------------------------------
Media:

January 17, 2020: Catalyst ran TPA’s op-ed, “Healthcare Sharing Ministries Are a Godsend to More than a Million Patients.”

January 19, 2020: The Hill quoted TPA in their story, “Conservative groups aim to sink bipartisan fix to 'surprise' medical bills.”

January 20, 2020: I appeared on WBOB Radio (600 AM and 101 FM; Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about the economy and trade.

January 20, 2020: The Epoch Times quoted TPA in their article, “Bipartisan Group Wants Congress to Know How Much New Proposals Will Add to National Debt Interest.”

January 21, 2020: Townhall ran TPA’s op-ed, “President Trump Should Fight for a Market-Based Approach to Solving Surprise Billing.”

January 22, 2020: Politico Pulse mentioned TPA in their story, “Conservative Groups Form Coalition to Fight Specific ‘Surprise Bill’ Fix.”

January 22, 2020: The Hill quoted TPA in their article, “Coalition of conservative groups to air ads against bipartisan proposal to end 'surprise' medical bills.”

January 22, 2020: Modern Healthcare quoted TPA in their story, “Conservative groups push provider-friendly surprise billing solution.”

January 22, 2020: I appeared on WJLA-TV (Washington, D.C.) to talk about emotional support animals.

January 22, 2020: HealthcareDive mentioned TPA in their story, “New conservative faction to lobby against benchmark surprise billing fix.”

January 23, 2020: The Epoch Times quoted TPA in their story, “Agency Watchdog Reports Show Government Never Seems to Learn How to Manage Contracts, Spending.”

January 23, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about Gov. Larry Hogan’s Green Energy plan.

January 23, 2020: The Washington Examiner ran TPA’s op-ed, “Phony 'emotional support' animals should give regulators paws.”


January 23, 2020: The Washington Post’s “PowerPost” mentioned TPA’s new coalition against healthcare rate-setting.

Have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for your continued support.

Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org ([link removed])

============================================================
** ([link removed])
** Like Us On Facebook ([link removed])
** ([link removed])
** Follow Us On Twitter ([link removed])
Copyright © 2020 Taxpayers Protection Alliance, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this as part of TPA's Weekly Update

Our mailing address is:
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, Dc xxxxxx
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]