"Health Care Consumer's Out-of-Network Protection, Transparency, Cost Containment and Accountability Act."

This bill (A382) requires doctors and hospitals to inform patients before non-emergency care whether they are in the patient's health insurance network. If a patient knowingly chooses an out-of-network provider, the provider must provide a written cost estimate and obtain the patient's written agreement to pay any balance beyond what insurance covers. The bill creates two dispute resolution processes: one for physician billing disputes (handled by a panel of 21 physicians) and one for facility billing disputes (handled by a panel of 11 health care facility representatives). It also prohibits providers from waiving patient cost-sharing amounts as an incentive to choose them and mandates transparency for the 70% of New Jersey residents in self-funded health plans.