The No Surprises Act and Dental Practice With the new year came a new set of federal laws aimed at protecting consumers from surprise billing. The No Surprises Act is part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Departments of Labor and the Treasury. The law went into full effect on January 1, 2022. The intention of the law is to protect consumers against healthcare providers billing patients the
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difference between in-network and out-of-network services without the patients being informed upfront about the costs. This can often happen in emergency situations; for instance, when a hospital emergency room is in-network for a patient, but the anesthesiologist attending during emergency surgery is not in-network. It can also apply to any patient receiving non-emergency care from out-ofnetwork providers at in-network facilities without upfront fee disclosures.
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