Employee Benefits Security Administration October 7, 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document sets forth interim final rules implementing certain provisions of the No Surprises Act, which was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. These interim final rules implement provisions of the No Surprises Act that provide for a Federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) (Federal IDR) process to permit group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage and nonparticipating providers, facilities, and providers of air ambulance services to determine the out-of-network rate for items and services that are emergency services, nonemergency services furnished by nonparticipating providers at participating facilities, and air ambulance services furnished by nonparticipating providers of air ambulance services, under certain circumstances. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) are issuing these interim final rules with largely parallel provisions that apply to group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage and certified IDR entities, providers, facilities, and providers of air ambulance services. In addition to the interim final rules issued jointly by the Departments, this document also includes interim final rules issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to clarify how certain No Surprises Act provisions apply to health benefits plans offered by carriers under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Act. In addition to the interim final rules issued jointly by the Departments and OPM, this document includes interim final rules issued by HHS that address good faith estimates of health care items and services for uninsured or self-pay individuals and the associated patient-provider dispute resolution process. The HHS-only interim final rules apply to selected dispute resolution (SDR) entities, providers, facilities, and providers of air ambulance services.