The House Insurance Committee on Wednesday will consider State Representative Ben Smaltz’s (R-Auburn) bill protecting Hoosiers from surprise medical billing.

Surprise billing occurs when a patient receives services at a medical facility within their insurance network, but a medical provider is not covered. Smaltz said an example would be when a person is having surgery, and their surgeon is covered by insurance, but other medical providers like an anesthesiologist is out-of-network.

Smaltz’s legislation would prohibit health care providers from billing an in-network patient for amounts exceeding in-network rates, which are usually covered by their insurance. Patients would still be responsible for any deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance amounts. Hoosiers could opt to receive services from out-of-network providers if they choose.

The House Insurance Committee meets at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 15th, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis.