WASHINGTON -- The Biden White House announced a trio of steps aimed at protecting patients from unexpected health care costs on Friday, with new actions surrounding short-term health plans, surprise medical bills and medical debt.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ proposed rule to limit the scope of short-term health plans would unwind a key Trump administration health care push and act on a long-held Democratic priority. The new surprise billing guidelines seek to prevent health care providers and insurers from getting around loopholes in the nascent legislation to ensure patients don’t end up with unexpected costs. And a tri-agency request for information will explore if the use of medical debt credit cards and loans help or hurt patients in the long run.
All of these actions are part of what the Biden administration said are efforts to crack down on hidden fees across the economy.
