Doctors, Employers Wary as Medical Billing Arbitration Halted

Shutting down the federal arbitration process for disputes over out-of-network medical bills will delay payments to health-care providers and back up an already-clogged system, doctors said of the HHS action.

The department’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Aug. 4 that the independent dispute resolution process will be suspended until additional instructions can be provided. It made the call in the wake of a ruling from a federal court in Texas.

The court’s decision does little to alleviate a backlog of arbitration disputes. It also grinds to a halt a system that was aimed at preventing patients from ...