Oregon Bill Aims to Stop Direct-to-Patient Insurance Company Payments

Tags: ASC | insurance company | outpatient surgery | payment | surgery center

Democratic State Senator in Oregon Alan Bates (D-Medford) recently sponsored a bill that would prevent insurers in the state from sending checks for surgery directly to patients, according to an article from The Lund Report.

According to the report, Regence BlueCross BlueShield has sent bills to patients and asked providers to collect from them, an attempt to bring these providers in-network. Evalyn Cole, administrator of Spine Surgery Center in Eugene, Ore., testified on the issue in front of the Senate Health Committee, and past Oregon Ambulatory Surgery Centers Association President Kecia Norling testified that 3 percent of the patients who receive these checks fail to pay the bill, according to the report.

The Oregon Medical Association backs the bill.

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