NSA Your Rights and Protections

When you get emergency services or get treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, you are protected from surprise billing or balance billing

When you see a doctor or other healthcare provider, you may owe certain out-of-pocket costs, such as copayment, coinsurance, and/or deductible. You may have other costs or have to pay the entire bill if you see a provider or visit a health care facility that isn't in your health plan's network.

"Out of network" describes providers and facilities that haven't signed a contract with your health plan. Out-of-network providers may be permitted to bill you for the difference between what your plan agreed to pay and the full amount charged for a service. This is called "balance billing." This amount is likely more than in-network costs for the same service and might not count toward you annual out-of-pocket limit.

"Surprise billing" is an unexpected balance bill. This can happen when you can't control who is involved in your care - like when you have an emergency or when you schedule a visit at an in-network facility but are unexpectedly treated by an out-of-network provider.

Emergency Services:

If you have an emergency medical condition and get emergency services from an out-of-network provider or facility, the most the provider or facility may bill you is your plan's in-network cost-sharing amount (such as, copayments and coinsurance) You can't be balance billed for these emergency services. This includes services you may get after you're in stable condition, unless you give written consent and give up your protections not to be balance billed for these post-stabilization services.

Maryland Specific Balance Billing Protections:

If you are in a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) governed by Maryland law, you may not be balance billed for services covered by your plan, including ground ambulance service. If you are in a PPO or EPO governed by Maryland law, hospital based or on-call physicians paid directly by your PPO or EPO (assignment of benefits) may not balance bill you for services covered under your plan and can't ask you to waive your balance billing protections. If you use ground ambulance services operated by a local government provider who accepts an assignment of benefits from a plan governed by Maryland law, the provider may not balance bill you.

When you get services from an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, certain providers there may be out-of-network. In these cases, the most these providers may bill you is your plan's in-network cost-sharing amount. This applies to emergency medicine, anesthesia, pathology, radiology, laboratory, neonatology, assistant surgeon, hospitalist, or intensivist services, These providers can't balance bill you and may not ask you to give up your protections not to be balance billed.

If you get services at these in-network facilities, out-of-network providers can't balance bill you, unless you give written consent and give up your protections.

You're never required to give up your protections from balance billing. You also aren't required to get care out-of-network. You can choose a provider or facility in your plan's network.

- You are only responsible for paying your share of the cost (like the copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles that you would pay if the provider or facility was in-network). Your health plan will pay out-of-network providers and facilities directly.

- Your health plan generally must:

• Cover emergency services without requiring you to get approval for services in advance (prior authorization)
•  Cover emergency services by out-of-network providers
•  Base what you owe the provider or facility (cost-sharing) on what it would pay an in-network provider or facility and show that amount in your explanation of benefits
•  Count any amount you pay for emergency services or out-of-network services toward your deductible and out-of-pocket limit.

If you believe you've been wrongly billed, you may contact the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at 1-800-633-4227 or visit cms.gov/nosurprises for more information about your rights under federal law.

For information regarding your right to a Good Faith Estimate, see Insurance and Rates