New law now protects patients from surprise medical bills in Washington

From the Office of the Insurance Commissioner

January 2, 2020

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Effective Jan. 1, 2020, certain medical providers are prohibited from sending surprise bills to consumers in Washington state under a new law that Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler championed.

Patients in Washington who receive emergency services or certain services at an in-network hospital or surgical facility cannot be surprise or ‘balance’ billed from an out-of-network provider.

“For more than a decade, we’ve heard from many people hit with a balance or surprise medical bill,” said Kreidler. “They shared their stories (www.columbian.com) of receiving a bill on top of…