May 13, 2019

In our last episode of season one, Ed jumps into the conversation a bit prematurely but that doesn’t stop Scott from giving him the business about surprise medical bills. Much to Ed’s dismay, he learns that apparently, whether or not you know how much your medical bill is going to be, you are still supposed to pay it.

• Why do patient’s get surprise medical bills? How do you get a surprise medical bill from an in-network facility?
• Is Scott’s life really a dystopian hellscape? And could exposure to it trigger Ed’s heart attack?
• What is balance billing? And how is it currently being addressed?
• How is the government getting involved? (Scott knows; he’s fancy.)
• Are any states addressing balance billing? What about Congress?
• Is baseball arbitration as painful as it sounds?

NOTE: Congress and the White House have continued to push solutions to surprise medical billing in between our taping and the release of our podcast. The White House held a press conference on the topic on May 9, 2019, and proposed legislation is expected before Memorial Day. We’ll provide an update in the show notes on specific policy proposals as they come available.