The “No Surprises” Act (NSA) was originally signed into law in December 2020, and represented a major advancement in protecting the rights of patients. This law made it illegal for insurers to force patients to pay for out-of-network costs in emergency situations, and implemented other protections against surprise medical bills. The Act included a provision known as Independent Dispute Resolution, or IDR, to help people quickly resolve NSA disputes and help healthcare providers get the compensation they are legally entitled to when insurers do not want to pay up.
However, it is one thing to make this kind of abusive billing illegal. It is another entirely to actually force insurers to pay what they owe when they lose their cases, and unsurprisingly, insurers often drag their feet when it comes to paying out IDR awards. It is for this reason that members of Congress have proposed the No Surprises Enforcement Act, which seeks to address the growing problem of insurers refusing to pay what they owe when they lose in IDR arbitration.
The No Surprises Enforcement Act is a bill that was recently introduced in the House of Representatives, which seeks to address the problem of insurers refusing to pay what they owe under the NSA. Under the proposed law, insurers who failed to pay IDR arbitration awards within 30 days would face additional legal penalties for doing so, up to three times the amount owed. Additionally, these payments would accrue interest, becoming even more expensive to the insurer over time until they were paid.
This legislation is considered necessary because of how many insurers have simply chosen to ignore the arbitration awards they are supposed to pay under the legally binding IDR process. Right now, the tools that health care providers have to force insurers to pay are limited, and they face few, if any, penalties for doing so. This new law seeks to remedy that situation by making unpaid arbitration awards more painful, imposing ever greater costs until insurers pay what they owe.
In addition to the six members of Congress who introduced the bill - Dr. Greg Murphy, D-N.C.; Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.; Dr. John Joyce, R-Pa.; Dr. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif.; Dr. Bob Onder, R-Mo.; and Dr. Kim Schrier, D-Wash. - the legislation has been endorsed by the American College of Radiology. The American College of Emergency Physicians has also come out in support of the bill, representing the importance of this legislation to the people who provide care to Americans every day.
If you are a healthcare provider who has struggled to make insurers pay what they owe under IDR, the No Surprises Enforcement Act may be exactly what you need. However, you will need to write to your congressional representatives and senators to convince them to support the measure so that it can pass Congress and become law.
While phone calls and emails can also help, writing a physical letter is typically the most effective means of reaching members of Congress and convincing them to consider your position. For this reason, we strongly recommend writing to your senators and representatives with a physical letter, rather than using alternative, less effective methods.
If you would like to join us in contacting your Member of Congress and/or U.S. Senators about the No Surprises Act, you can find their contact information at the below links. For your convenience, we also included a sample form letter. Feel free to customize the letter based on your personal experiences with the No Surprises Act.
Find your Member of Congress here.
Download a form letter to send to your U.S. Senator or Member of Congress here.
Thomas J. Force, Jr.Vice President of Patient Accounts
A graduate of Arizona State University, having received his Bachelor of Arts in Civil Economic Thought and Leadership, Thomas quickly integrated into The Patriot Group shortly after graduating and has brought a fresh perspective to company strategies and protocols, particularly with regard to patient collections.
Currently, as the Vice President of Patient Accounts, Thomas heads up the company’s Patient Accounts Department and is responsible for overseeing staff and ensuring that patients have a clear understanding of their financial obligations, are treated with respect, and ultimately make payments to further boost our clients’ revenue.
Jennifer ManiaciVice President of Coding
Jennifer is a professional coder certified by the AAPC with over 25 years of experience in medical office settings. She is responsible for overseeing any and all coding issues and is tasked with managing the most complex accounts – namely those concerning highly-specialized out-of-network surgeons who often rely upon unlisted codes in order to bill for their services. In this regard, Jennifer regularly secures GAP exceptions for our clients’ patients (i.e., allowing for in-network benefits for out-of-network services) and negotiates lucrative single case agreements to ensure our clients are afforded substantial compensation for their highly-skilled services.
As part of her responsibilities, Jennifer takes great pride in advocating for patients against payors so that our clients’ patients can rest assured that they will receive the maximum benefits from their plan.
Meredith MonteleoneVice President of Operations
Meredith has worked in the healthcare industry for the past 25 years, having managed all areas of the revenue cycle. Her expertise runs the full gamut of revenue cycle matters, including serving in- and out-of-network parties, professional and facility clients, and clients involved in an abundance of practice areas (e.g., vascular, orthopedic, ENT, general practice/primary care, chiropractic, and surgical).
With her extensive experience, which also includes teaching classes at Hunter Business School since 2004, Meredith is responsible for managing accounts, supervising staff, delegating assignments, and analyzing accounts to ensure our clients revenue is maximized.
Susan O’Connor-Van WinckelVice President of Administration
With more than a decade of experience, Susan is integral to the success of The Patriot Group and its clients. A professional coder certified by the AAPC, and having past entrepreneurial experience, Susan certainly understands the importance of maintaining an efficient and profitable revenue cycle.
With this mindset, Susan serves as the ultimate team player. Aside from being primarily responsible for account implementation and general account management, based on Susan’s expertise, she regularly steps up to address the most complex revenue cycle issues, namely those faced by new clients whose past billing company left their account in shambles.
Farooq WaheedChief Technology Officer
A dedicated entrepreneur, Farooq has actively founded, and participated in the start-up of, several successful health-related organizations, including Patriot International Group, the entity that handles aged receivable collection for The Patriot Group.
Prior to engaging in his entrepreneurial endeavors, Farooq served as a senior software developer with Applied Sciences Group. In this capacity, Farooq designed, developed, and maintained highly scalable software and web applications. With this experience, Farooq, along with his brother Rauf Waheed, has been integral in developing software to promote a more efficient aged receivable collection process that separates The Patriot Group from its competitors. As a result, our clients benefit from the maximum collection on their aged receivables.
Rauf WaheedChief Technology Officer
Much like his brother, Rauf is a serial entrepreneur with substantial experience founding, launching, and scaling businesses primarily rooted in the healthcare sector. Relying on his nearly 15 years of experience serving in high-level strategy and planning roles with Fortune 500 companies such as IBM and CenturyLink, Rauf brings an analytical expertise to The Patriot Group that far exceeds that of its competitors.
This skillset, coupled with his background in software engineering, enabled Rauf and his brother, Farooq, to develop and integrate software designed to promote increased and more efficient aged receivables collection. In applying this software to its aged receivable collections, The Patriot Group has been able to increase its clients’ revenues, while speeding up their revenue cycles.
Robert T. Neuner, Esq.General Counsel
An attorney licensed in New York, New Jersey, and Arizona, Robert has spent the vast majority of his professional career in the healthcare sector since graduating from Brooklyn Law School.
Prior to joining The Patriot Group at the start of 2021, Robert simultaneously served as General Counsel, Director of Mergers & Acquisitions, and as the interim Chief Financial Officer for a medical management services firm that subsequently developed into a sizeable primary care practice in Arizona. During this five-plus year tenure, Robert served as the right hand of that company’s owner and Chief Executive Officer. In this regard, Robert played an integral role in that organization’s exponential growth (its revenues multiplying ten-fold), while ensuring that the operations ran efficiently and compliantly.
Robert relies on this past experience, as well as his previous litigation experience, in order to promote the compliance of our clients. As part of his responsibilities, Robert defends against audits and recoupments/refund demands, provides guidance on carrier policies and applicable laws/regulations, appeals unpaid or underpaid claims, and represents clients in surprise billing disputes.
Michele ForceFounder & Chief Executive Officer
Michele Force has over 30 years of experience as a Senior Executive in Operations, Sales, and Customer Service for a West-Coast technology company with a focus on the insurance industry. She has worked with some of the largest insurance organizations in the country, developing extensive experience in technology infrastructure and techniques to increase client profitability. Mrs. Force has developed significant high-level contacts at various insurance companies and other insurance-related organizations.
As Chief Operating Officer, Mrs. Force manages day-to-day activities and client interface while spearheading technology initiatives within The Patriot Group. She is a polished and experienced senior executive, and her team strives to deeply understand clients' goals, problems, and needs. The better they understand the dynamics of their clients' practice, the better they can help them maximize revenue. Their goal is their clients' long-term success, and they aim to be a trusted, loyal partner who ensures they get the most dedicated and passionate team working for them.
Mrs. Force's focus on customer service and her expertise in the insurance industry have helped The Patriot Group build lasting relationships with their clients. Her dedication to maximizing revenue for clients has made her a valuable asset to the company.
Thomas J. Force, Esq.Founder & President
Thomas J. Force is an attorney with significant experience in the healthcare and insurance industries. Mr. Force's background as a former U.S. Marine, Wall Street insurance litigator, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and CEO of a revenue cycle company showcases a diverse and extensive career.
His expertise in healthcare revenue collection techniques, appeal strategies, and healthcare compliance makes him a valuable resource in the field. Additionally, his role on the Advisory Board at Hunter Business School, involvement with medical billing and coding students, and frequent speaking engagements at medical associations and healthcare organizations highlight his commitment to education and sharing knowledge in the industry.
Mr. Force focuses on a range of topics, including Effective Out-of-Network Work Flow, Successful Appeals Drafting, The Dangers of Waiving Patient Cost Share Responsibility, The No Surprise Act, and The Federal Anti-Kickback, Stark, False Claim Act, and HIPAA. In Short, Mr. Force has a comprehensive understanding of legal and compliance issues within the healthcare sector. His focus is protecting and defending the healthcare provider, and assisting with the generation of revenue for medical practices.