Surprise Bills Likely for Covid-19 Patients, Insurer Group Warns

Coronavirus patients who are treated in hospitals are likely to get surprise bills, a health insurance executive warned Wednesday.

“A lot more people are going to be seeking emergency care,” Adam Beck, vice president of employer health policy and initiatives at America’s Health Insurance Plans, said in a webinar. “Many under the system we have right now will get hit with surprise bills, even if they have coverage.”

But Beck acknowledged that the current focus on addressing the coronavirus pandemic will make it more difficult to get legislation passed this spring that would curb the practice of patients being billed ...