NoHLA has long advocated for consumer protections from surprise medical bills – when a consumers receive unexpectedly large bills from health care providers that they had no idea were out-of-network.  Over one in five visits to an in-network emergency room result in an out-of-network doctor’s bill. Despite this problem, a House proposal in the Legislature to eliminate surprise billing died for the second year in a row. In a recent article, the New York Times highlighted surprise billing practices at Newport Hospital and Health Services in Northeastern Washington. Newport is one of many hospitals contracted with EmCare, an emergency physician staffing company. Yale researchers found much higher out-of-network billing rate in hospitals contracted with EmCare compared with the national average. NoHLA will continue to advocate for consumer protections against surprise billing.