When Carol Pak-Teng, an emergency room doctor in New Jersey, hosted a fundraiser in December for Democratic freshman Rep. Tom Malinowski, her guests, mostly doctors, were pleased when she steered the conversation to surprise medical bills.

This was a chance to send a message to Washington that any surprise billing legislation should protect doctors’ incomes in their battle over payments with insurers. Lawmakers are grappling over several approaches to curtail the practice that can leave patients on the hook for huge medical bills, even if they have insurance.

As Congress begins its 2020 legislative session, there is evidence the doctors’ message has been received: The bills with the most momentum are making more and more concessions to physicians.

As surprise medical billing has emerged as a hot-button issue for voters, doctors, hospitals and insurers have been lobbying to protect their own bottom line. All that lobbying meant nothing got passed last year.

Television and Internet ads are the most visible manifestation of the battle. But in taking their cause to politicians, doctors have waged an extraordinary on-the-ground stealth campaign to win over members of Congress. Their professional credentials give them a kind of gravitas compared with lobbyists who are merely hired guns.

For patients, getting an unexpected bill for a treatment they thought was covered by insurance can be financially devastating. Surprise bills are sometimes triggered when patients unwittingly see a doctor out of network.

Doctors Push Back As Congress Takes Aim At Surprise Medical Bills

Image: Hannah Norman/Kaiser Health News