The No Fees for EFTs Act
Congress is considering easing the financial burden on practices that take payment via electronic funds transfer, but right now, it’s just a bill
What
Physicians may soon be protected from paying fees associated with electronic fund transfers (EFTs). In an attempt to shift reimbursement from paper to electronic processing, payers are required to offer payments via EFTs by the Affordable Care Act. This led to payment process vendors (such as Zelis or Change Healthcare) imposing a 2% to 5% fee per transaction on physicians and other healthcare providers. These fees cost practices a lot of lost revenue, up to as much as $1 million annually for some practices — though for most, the figure is less than $100,000. In response to lobbying efforts to eliminate these fees, a bipartisan group of physician members of Congress — Greg Murphy (R-NC), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Kim Schrier (D-WA), Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Ami Bera (D-CA), and Derek Kilmer (D-WA) — introduced the No Fees for EFTs Act. The proposed bill would ban commercial health plans from imposing fees on physicians and others who choose to receive reimbursement electronically.
When
On November 28, 2023, a bipartisan group of House Members introduced the No Fees for EFTs Act. On that same day, the bill was referred to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means.
