STAT+: No Surprises Act arbitration rule could worsen flood of provider disputes

STAT PlusBusiness No Surprises Act arbitration rule could worsen flood of provider disputes The rule makes it easier, and cheaper, to file disputes Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Tara BannowJune 1, 2026 Hospitals and Insurance Reporter Tara Bannow[email protected]Tara covers the business of health care. Her stories focus on hospitals, doctors, and how their business practices affect patients — especially when private equity gets involved. She also writes about health insurance and ideas for improving our broken health system.

You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70. Health insurers, providers, and consumer advocates praised the Trump administration’s long-awaited fixes to the No Surprises Act’s arbitration process, but some warned they won’t address its most pernicious problem: the provider gaming that’s costing millions. The final rule issued Thursday makes changes designed to improve communication between insurers and providers and give Medicare more visibility into their negotiations.

Other tweaks are aimed at attacking the problems of ineligible disputes and of arbitration being used as a catch-all instead of a last resort. Advertisement “It does make meaningful progress to reduce burdens and streamline, but we need additional action to address some of the underlying incentives that are driving overuse of the process,” said Jennifer Jones, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s senior director of legislative and regulatory policy. “We need more to address the egregious award amounts.” STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account?

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Her stories focus on hospitals, doctors, and how their business practices affect patients — especially when private equity gets involved. She also writes about health insurance and ideas for improving our broken health system. You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70.

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