Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 1177 (May 16, 2022)

Summary

This is the Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 1177, with committee amendments, State of New Jersey, dated May 16, 2022. The committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 1177, which as amended revises the arbitration processes in the "Out-of-network Consumer Protection, Transparency, Cost Containment and Accountability Act." The bill extends the time to negotiate a settlement after an inadvertent use of out-of-network services from 30 to 60 days, and extends the deadline to initiate binding arbitration from within 30 days of the final offer to within 90 days. It sets a difference between final offers of $1,000 or higher for a billed amount of $2,500 or more, or $500 or higher for a billed amount of less than $2,500. The bill also requires an arbitrator to include detailed written findings with each decision.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

     SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

                    STATEMENT TO

                  SENATE, No. 1177
                   with committee amendments



 STATE OF NEW JERSEY
                      DATED: MAY 16, 2022

    The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably Senate Bill
No. 1177, with committee amendments.
   As amended, this bill amends the “Out-of-network Consumer
Protection, Transparency, Cost Containment and Accountability
Act” to revise certain aspects of the arbitration processes
established in that act for claims involving health insurance carriers
subject to the provisions of the act.
   The bill extends the amount of time that the insurance carrier and
healthcare provider have to negotiate a settlement in the event of an
inadvertent use of out-of-network services from 30 to 60 days, and
extends the deadline for the carrier, provider, or covered person to
initiate binding arbitration in the event of a failure to reach a
settlement from within 30 days of the final offer to within 90 days
of the final offer. The bill provides that, in order for binding
arbitration to be initiated, the difference between a carrier’s and
provider’s final offers be $1,000 or higher for a billed amount of
$2,500 or more or $500 or higher for a billed amount of less than
$2,500.
   Finally, the bill requires an arbitrator to include detailed written
findings with each decision. The detailed written findings are to be
an analysis of the decision including, but not be limited to,
information concerning any databases, previous awards, or other
documentation or arguments that contributed to the arbitrator’s
decision.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
    The committee amended the bill to remove a provision requiring
arbitrators to be certified by the Department of Banking and Insurance;
thereby preserving the requirement under current law that arbitrators
be certified by the American Arbitration Association.


File and source

File

2022-05-16_SCM_S1177_S1.pdf

Size

113,947 bytes

SHA-256

0b18400707f290a48e2c7a2ac441fc7f2cccb7a0991c7b692ca572d1b416c29c

Our copy

2022-05-16_SCM_S1177_S1.pdf

Original

No public link identified.