A Department of Labor official Wednesday defended a proposed rule pegging surprise billing payments to contract rates that has spawned lawsuits and complaints that it will result in inadequate payments to health-care providers.
“Obviously we did take an approach in the interim final rule that wasn’t an accident. We’ve been thinking about this issue a lot, and it was a deliberate decision,” Ali Khawar, assistant secretary of the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, said in a webinar sponsored by the Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC). The CAHC represents a range of health-care industries.
Khawar made the comment following numerous ...