June 11, 2019

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo

Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

The Honorable Andrea Stewart-Cousins

Majority Leader
New York State Senate
LOB 907
Albany, NY 12248

The Honorable Carl E. Heastie

Speaker
New York State Assembly
LOB 932
Albany, NY 12248

Dear Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Heastie:

We write to you to respectfully urge the passage of Senator Krueger and Assemblymember Cahill’s
bill to amend the financial services law in relation to establishing protections from excess hospital charges
(S3171-A Krueger/A264-B Cahill).

With health care constantly under attack by politicians and lobbyists in Washington, it’s more
important than ever that we ensure that every New Yorker is able to access the health care they need without
fear of exorbitant fees set by corporations. In 2014, New York State took an important step in reducing these
“surprise bills” by out-of-network emergency room physicians at in-network hospitals by enacting a law –
“Emergency Medical Services and Surprise Bills” – that established an independent dispute resolution (IDR)
process. This process allows health care plans and employers to challenge physician bills for emergency
services in excess of typical charges for services.

Senator Krueger and Assemblymember Cahill’s bill will expand this protection to further ensure that
all unexpected fees are avoided. The bill extends the IDR process to all out-of-network hospital bills, not just
to bills from doctors.

Independent research confirmed the success of the 2014 legislation in protecting patients from excess
charges. A 2014 Yale University study found that the law resulted in a substantial drop in out-of-network
billing for emergency doctor bills, and the New York State Health Foundation credited the law as leading to
“significant progress in protecting patients from surprise bills.”
 We’re confident this new bill will further benefit New Yorkers – both patients and employers – and
will help slow the rapidly rising costs of health care. Additionally, because the City provides health insurance
directly to over one million employees and their families, the bill will benefit the City. The City’s Municipal
Labor Coalition’s Committee Health Savings Subcommittee supports the bill, and both labor and
management believe it would lower hospital costs substantially and advance the continuing, collaborative
health care savings efforts. Most importantly, it will protect New Yorkers from being caught between
hospitals and health care plans.

We urge the earliest possible favorable consideration of this legislation.

Sincerely,

Bill de Blasio Scott M. Stringer Corey Johnson

Mayor New York City Comptroller Speaker, New York City Council