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WASHINGTON, DC – Energy and Commerce Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) went on FOX Business with Charles Payne to discuss surprise medical billing. Walden told the story of Sonji Wilkes, who testified before the Energy and Commerce Committee, and how her family received a $50,000 surprise medical bill. During the interview, Payne shared that two members on the producing team had also dealt with a similar situation as Wilkes. This is not unusual, 1 in 5 visits to the emergency room result in a surprise medical bill.
The solution is the No Surprises Act, which saves $21.9 billion over 10 years according to CBO and is the only legislation, to date, to have advanced through the committee process in the House of Representatives.
WATCH➡Walden shares story of a family getting hit with a $50,000 surprise medical bill
Let me give you an example to a patient this happened to. Sonji Wilkes out of Colorado. Second son born, she did all of the work to make sure the hospital was under her insurance plan, everybody. Child had a medical problem at birth and they had to take him to a neonatal intensive care unit down the hall in the same hospital. Turned out he was hemophiliac. When they got home a month later they got a bill for $50,000. Why? Because even though the hospital was under her insurance, she testified before our committee, that they had contracted out their neonatal intensive care unit. Now how in the heck would you ever know that? Or know to ask that?
WATCH ➡Walden on private equity involvement in surprise medical billing
In some cases – what we’ve found – is that there’s some private equity firms that had bought companies. They buy out medical practices. They buy out the management in the emergency room. In one case we know, they took it out of network, raised the charges 96% over what was billed before and it was out of network. And you know, you don’t always know when these changes occur in your insurance too so that’s a piece of this – is transparency for consumers. And there’s big money here. Okay, I’m a capitalist. But this is outrageous and it’s unfair and the consumers are getting the raw end of the stick.
WATCH ➡Walden on protecting consumers
…I’ve always been pro-consumer even though I was a business owner. But when people are being taken advantage of unfairly, you’ll always find me in their corner.