Fifth Circuit Deals Two Surprise Billing Blows to Air Rescue (1)

A trio of air ambulance providers lost an appeals court bid to overturn a decision in two surprise medical bill disputes, narrowing the legal path for physicians to challenge alleged malfeasance from health insurers in court.

The consolidated case revolves around two conflicting provisions of the No Surprises Act, which requires doctors and insurers to settle unexpected out-of-network bills via arbitration rather than balance billing the patient.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision accompanies a separate ruling also issued Thursday in which the same panel of judges upheld a lower court’s decision, similarly asserting that surprise ...