ACR issues response to federal ruling on IDR fees

The American College of Radiology (ACR) remains concerned about a federal ruling that would increase the cost of independent dispute resolution (IDR) fees as part of the No Surprises Act. The college on December 20 issued its statement in the wake of a December 18 ruling by the U.S. departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services. The ruling outlined policies related to the No Surprises Act’s IDR process administrative fee, which will more than double the fee from $50 to $115 per dispute. The new fee will take effect 30 days after publication of the rule in the Federal Register, which could come as soon as January. The departments earlier in 2023 proposed an increase to $350 for the IDR administrative fee. However, the Texas Medical Association, the Texas Radiological Society, Houston Radiology Associated, and other entities issued a lawsuit against the federal government in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The lawsuit claimed that the fee increase violated federal law. The court in August ruled in favor of ACR members and other physicians. It decided that the government’s rule violated federal law and the administrative fee was lowered back to $50. The IDR administrative fee considers the expected cost of operating the federal IDR process along with the number anticipated disputes started within the calendar year. The finalized policy also allows for the fees to be updated not more than annually.The ACR stated that “mos...
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