N.J. Sees Arbitration Explosion Over Surprise Medical Bills

A New Jersey law aimed at curbing surprise medical bills for emergency room visits and out-of-network services has led to an explosion in arbitrated billing disputes between doctors and insurers.

The state saw nearly 3,000 arbitration claims in the 2018 law’s first year on the books. And while the decisions were split fairly evenly between insurers and medical providers, the payments that doctors were awarded were partly based on high list prices.

The experience of the Garden State, one of the few states to enact laws to deal with surprise billing, may offer lessons to lawmakers in Washington ...