Court Strikes Down Federal Surprise Billing Arbitration Rules, Pausing Government Arbitrations

On August 3, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas again struck down portions of the regulations governing the arbitration process created by the No Surprises Act (NSA) to settle payment disputes between out-of-network healthcare providers and payers. This decision in Texas Medical Association, et al. v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, Case No. 6:23-cv-59-JDK (TMA IV) is the latest in a series of successful challenges brought by providers against the implementation of the Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (the Departments). The Departments have temporarily suspended the IDR process due to the decision.