Manatt Health Partner Harvey Rochman spoke with Health Plan Weekly about a recent proposed rule surrounding the Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process of the No Surprises Act, and discussed why he’s optimistic that the rule is likely to last.
The article explained that the IDR process—which was established to resolve medical-billing payment disputes between payers and providers—has experienced a significant backlog of cases since its institution. Rochman said that the new rule, if adopted, may help resolve some of the obstacles that have contributed to this backlog. For instance, he described the incentives that the rule puts on the negotiation process, stating, “I think what's going on in the rule is that the departments are trying to increase the efficiency of some of those initial negotiations by making sure that the parties have needed information in the [new] notice and response document… I think it may well increase the actual [amount of] negotiation.”
Although numerous groups have successfully challenged previous iterations of the IDR rulemaking, Rochman noted that this regulation seems likely to withstand potential litigation. “The rule appears to be a well thought out package of technical changes to enhance the efficiency and speed of the process, which is clearly needed,” he said.
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