{"id":8225,"date":"2018-10-11T21:00:34","date_gmt":"2018-10-11T15:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/?p=8225"},"modified":"2025-07-07T14:53:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T14:53:51","slug":"murphy-signed-out-of-network-healthcare-billing-law-in-new-jersey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/murphy-signed-out-of-network-healthcare-billing-law-in-new-jersey\/","title":{"rendered":"Murphy signed Out-of-Network Healthcare Billing Law in New Jersey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Governor Phil Murphy on August 30th<\/sup>, 2018 signed a bill that ended the decade-long battle to address the issue of the cost and impact of expensive medical bills for residents in the state. In a statement, Gov. Murphy said, \u201cToday, we are closing the loophole and reigning in excessive out-of-network costs to prevent residents from receiving that \u2018big surprise\u2019 in their mailbox.\u201d \u201cAt the same time, we are making Healthcare Billing Law more affordable by ensuring these costs are not transferred to consumers through increased health premiums.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill that was finally passed this year was sponsored by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Sen. Joseph Vitale (both D-Woodbridge).<\/p>\n

The Assembly 2039 Bill<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Assembly bill 2039, requires hospitals to disclose to patients, which out-of-network providers will be billing them before a patient undergoes a procedure or surgery.<\/p>\n

With the new law in effect, the Governor said, the state will be able to rein in the \u201cbig surprise\u201d bills residents find in their mailboxes after a hospital stay.<\/p>\n

Murphy said, \u201cEach year nearly 170,000 New Jersey citizens get medical bills which they didn\u2019t expect. \u201cBills for services performed, unbeknownst to them, for professionals outside the networks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one likes to be blindsided. But that\u2019s what\u2019s been happening to residents who did not know they were getting out-of-network medical care until they received a bill in the mail,\u201d Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin added.<\/p>\n

The new bill that turns into law will allow for a state-regulated, binding arbitration process between patients and out-of-network providers to settle costs of an out-of-network bill.<\/p>\n

The state Senate has also amended the bill to prevent insurance providers from using pricing benchmarks for services rendered by out-of-network doctors.<\/p>\n

Self-Insured Healthcare Plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A self-insured plan subject to ERISA that wants to be subject to the act would do so by filing an annual notice with the state and amending its plan documents to reflect that the benefits of the statute apply to the plan\u2019s members.<\/p>\n