Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:
During a roundtable in
Seattle, Senator Murray heard from Washingtonians about their
experiences navigating costly surprise medical bills and the complicated
health insurance system
The top Democrat on the Senate
health committee, Senator Murray is working in the Senate on a
bipartisan solution to end the practice of surprise medical billing
Senator Murray Hears from Patients, Advocates on Surprise Medical Bills – MORE HERE from KIRO
More on Surprise Billing from Vox: Hospitals kept ER fees secret. We uncovered them. – LINK
ICYMI from Senator Murray: Work Will Continue to End Surprise Medical Billing, Strengthen Health Care For Patients & Families – MORE HERE
(Seattle, WA) – On February 20th,
U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate health
committee, sat down with patients in Seattle to discuss the
increasingly debilitating issue of surprise medical bills, and her plans
to address the issue at the federal level. During the roundtable,
Senator Murray heard first-hand accounts from Washingtonians of dealing
with surprise medical bills, and the impact their surprise bills had on
their health care and lives. While Washington state recently moved to
end the practice of surprise billing in the state, during the discussion
Senator Murray shared the importance of addressing the issue at the
federal level to provide relief to Washingtonians and more across the
country who could still be susceptible to surprise medical bills.
Senator Murray also shared how she plans to use stories from Washington
state in her continued efforts at the federal level to pass legislation
to eliminate surprise medical bills.
“I’m working, in a bipartisan, bicameral
way, to get legislation passed, hopefully this year, hopefully soon, to
cover everybody in the nation so no one has to question or go through
what any of you did,” Senator Murray said to the roundtable participants. “I’m
here to hear from each of you what happened to you so I can take those
[stories] back and help build the case so we can get this done.”
During the discussion, Senator Murray heard from
local patients like Lake Stevens resident Leeza Broome, who recounted
her experience of being told after a trip to an emergency room in her
insurance network that the physician who saw her was out-of-network. As a
result, Leeza received a bill three times higher than her normal copay,
which was debilitating for her and her family, and which she is still
working to resolve:
“When your family is struggling, living
paycheck to paycheck, a $100 normal ER bill is enough to make you think
about ‘is this really an emergency?’ So when I received an almost $300
physician’s bill on top of that, I was stunned,” Leeza Broome said during the discussion. “After
receiving this surprise bill in the mail, I’m left thinking twice about
out next emergency room visit. Is this an actual emergency? Can this
wait until maybe urgent care opens or until we can get an appointment
with our regular doctor? The panic attack of having a surprise bill show
up should never have to be a consideration when you’re thinking about
your family’s health care choices.”
Another local patient, Maria Eickelmann from
Seattle, also shared her story of navigating the confusing health
insurance system: to save costs on a surgery, Maria declined the
services of an anesthesiologist on multiple occasions during
preparations for her procedure—including in an awkward moment shortly
before her surgery began. Then, after the surgery, Maria incidentally
learned that the anesthesiologist that the hospital almost had work on
her surgery was out of her insurance network. Maria recounted how her
vigilance helped her avoid a service that would have assuredly resulted
in a surprise medical bill.
As the top Democrat on the Senate health
committee, Senator Murray has been working with Democrats and
Republicans—in both the House and the Senate—to end surprise billing
across the country, while still leaving strong state laws, like the one
in Washington state, intact. Last year, Senator Murray announced a
bipartisan proposal to address surprise medical bills, and has made clear
that she will continue to fight for a solution that protects patients
from higher costs—in the form of surprise medical bills, higher
premiums, and more.
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