Frank Pallone

A new proposal in Congress to scrap a surprise billing ban’s controversial arbitration system will need to to survive an onslaught of attacks from provider groups, for whom arbitration has been a gold mine.

After Rep. Frank Pallone (D-.N.J.) unveiled his Lower Premiums, Faster Payments Act on Thursday, it quickly garnered praise from academics and consumer advocates, as well as condemnation from provider groups. It would dismantle the problem-plagued process that’s currently used to resolve disputes between health insurers and out-of-network providers and replace it with a payment system based on median in-network rates.

Pallone, one of the authors of the No Surprises Act, said in a statement that the law has been an “overwhelming success” when it comes to protecting patients from surprise bills.