ICYMI: Davids Secures Major Win for Patients with Surprise Billing Law, Kansas Residents Share Their Stories
Last week, Representative Sharice Davids penned a guest column in the Kansas City Star on new consumer protections that she helped pass into law to prevent surprise medical billing. The protections, which went into effect on January 1, ban unexpected medical expenses in situations from emergency room visits to routine surgeries and much more. In the Shawnee Mission Post this week, two Johnson County residents shared their stories with surprise billing and how the new Davids-backed protections will ensure others won't have to deal with such devastating expenses.
Read Davids' column in the Kansas City Star:
"During a medical emergency, the last thing you need is an expensive bill you never even saw coming. And as the pandemic puts strain on people's finances as well as their health, that extra bill can cause even more damage.
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It was a proud moment when I finally voted to pass a major patient protection package in late 2020, which included my original legislation to promote insurer transparency along with other consumer protections. As of Jan. 1, that legislation is in effect.
Under this new law, people no longer have to worry that seeking emergency medical attention will lead to unexpected financial ruin. The new guidelines ban out-of-network billing for emergency services, regardless of where they are given."
Read Debbie and Heather's stories in the Shawnee Mission Post:
"Heather Rubesch, a Prairie Village resident, went into her battle with breast cancer in September 2017 thinking finances would be the least of her worries…Now, four years later and cancer-free, she estimates her out-of-pocket expenses total $50,000 — and she's accumulated about $2 million in medical bills.
But the No Surprises Act, federal legislation that went into effect on Jan. 1, would have prevented Rubesch from being caught in between insurance companies and health care providers — what she refers to as a "Bermuda Triangle" of medical expenses.
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U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas' 3rd District, which includes Johnson County, supported the No Surprises Act. The measure includes a piece of Davids' own health care legislation: the Insurance Accountability and Transparency Act.
That bill, which Davids has been pushing in some form since her first term began in 2019, requires health care providers to update their network lists every six months, so consumers can make medical decisions with the most recent information possible.
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Debbie Ethridge, a Shawnee resident, has also gotten surprise medical bills. Etheridge said she received a $1,500 anesthesiology bill months after a fully-covered surgery in December 2018.
Etheridge, who is on a fixed income with Social Security, said she didn't have the means to pay more than $5 a month on the bill. She said she told a Johnson County Department of Aging employee about it, and was advised to reach out to Davids.
Three days after a call to Davids' office, Etheridge said she received a call from her insurance company that the bill was taken care of."