What HaloMD’s legal win means for No Surprises Act arbitration

Tara Bannow covers hospitals, providers, and insurers. You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70.

Arbitration outcomes are notoriously resilient, much like cockroaches, and are difficult to overturn.

This persistent notion in the legal realm was reaffirmed recently when a federal judge dismissed a health insurer’s lawsuit contesting arbitration decisions made under the No Surprises Act. This judgment does not look promising for other ongoing legal challenges against decisions made through the independent dispute resolution process established by the 2020 law.

“You can’t second guess the arbitrators,” said Chris Deacon, a health policy consultant and former lawyer. “That’s the whole point of arbitration.”