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Arkansas ER physicians tell Senate committee No Surprises Act left them underpaid, call for electronic IDR process
Summary
Three physician‑owners described steep, unexplained cuts to commercial reimbursements since the No Surprises Act, lengthy independent dispute resolution delays, and urged the legislature to require an electronic IDR workflow and greater state oversight to protect rural access.
Three physician‑owners testified to the Senate Insurance & Commerce committee that commercial payers are paying dramatically less for emergency care after the federal No Surprises Act and that the state should act to reduce paperwork and delay.
Dr. Charles Mason, a physician and partial owner of Cabot Emergency Hospital, told lawmakers he and his partners provide emergency care to roughly 30,000 Arkansans a year and employ about 120 people but are increasingly treated as out‑of‑network providers. "We are not asking for big pay raises... we're just trying to get some sort of consolidation so that we can get paid as well as other hospitals have," Mason said.
Dr. Justin White, chief medical officer and owner at a Fort Smith facility, told the committee that the No Surprises Act…
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