Texas Court Rules Against Government's NSA Fee Increase and Batching Rule

Yesterday, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled in favor of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) in its challenge to the No Surprises Act’s $350 administrative fee and flawed batching rules.  

In the decision on "TMA IV," the courts ruled that the government acted unlawfully when it unilaterally raised the independent dispute resolution (IDR) administrative fee from $50 to $350 for 2023 and established restrictive batching rules, both without following proper public notice and rulemaking processes.

ASA joined the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) in an amicus brief filed in support of the TMA IV lawsuit. 
 
With the ruling, the IDR fee will return to $50 and the batching rules will be vacated until such time as the Departments can appropriately notify the public and permit stakeholders to comments on the two subjects.  The Departments may also choose to appeal this decision, as they did for TMA II.