Court Split Spells Trouble on Surprise Billing Award Enforcement

A continued fight between medical providers and insurance companies over how to enforce arbitration awards in surprise billing disputes is splitting the courts and bringing greater uncertainty to an already complicated and fraught process.

Judge Jane Boyle of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas recently dismissed a suit from air ambulance providers Guardian Flight LLC and Med-Trans Corp. that sought to force insurer Health Care Service Corp. to pay money they were awarded through No Surprises Act arbitration, finding that the law provides no right to sue in court.

By contrast, Judge Kevin McNulty of the ...