State Reps. Marcus McEntire, R-Duncan, Chris Sneed, R-Muskogee, and Tammy Townley, R-Ardmore, commented on the ongoing discussions to eliminate surprise medical billing in Oklahoma.

A surprise medical bill is a bill an out-of-network health provider issues to a covered insured person for health care services in an amount greater than the patient’s cost-sharing obligation that would apply for the same services by an in-network provider. What makes these bills surprising is the patient has no knowledge the provider rendering his or her health care services is out of the patient’s network.

“Surprise bills commonly occur when a patient receives care from an out-of-network physician in an in-network hospital,” McEntire said.

Negotiations about surprise billing between the Legislature, the Oklahoma Insurance Department, health care providers, and health insurers occurred in earnest last session, but neither consensus nor a compromise could be reached before the session ended.