What protection does the federal No Surprises Act, effective January 2022, provide to patients?

The No Surprises Act prohibits surprise medical billing in two specific situations: emergency care at any facility regardless of network status, and non-emergency care at in-network facilities when an out-of-network provider delivers care without the patient's informed consent. In these cases, patients pay only their in-network cost-sharing amount. Disputes between providers and insurers over payment are resolved through an independent dispute resolution process. The law closed a major gap that had resulted in patients receiving bills of thousands of dollars from out-of-network anesthesiologists, radiologists, and other specialists they did not choose.