April 30, 2026
The MMA has signed onto an AMA letter urging federal departments to improve enforcement of the “No Surprises Act." The Act, enacted in 2022, aims to protect patients from unexpected medical bills when they unknowingly seek care from out-of-network providers.
The letter primarily concerns the “Independent Dispute Resolution” (IDR) process, which is initiated when providers and patients disagree on payments for services subject to the Act. Specifically, the letter asks federal departments to:
Stop health plans from – allegedly – increasing patient cost-sharing when IDR decisions are made in the provider’s favor (i.e., effectively forcing patients to pay the difference),
Revise June 2025 technical guidance that allows health plans broad ability to re-open closed IDR cases to delay and withhold payments to providers, and
Require health plans to (a) disclose all case information necessary to determine accurate claim eligibility under the IDR process and (b) require health plans to meaningfully participate in the IDR process through the federal portal.
The letter was sent on April 27 to the Secretaries of the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Contact Adrian Uphoff, manager of health policy and regulatory affairs, with questions.
July 23, 2026
On July 21, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that they are deferring more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid payments to Minnesota and California in an effort the combat "fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid and safeguard federal taxpayer dollars."
July 23, 2026
Calls, texts, and chats routed to 988 Minnesota Lifeline centers have increased year after year since the national mental health lifeline launched in July 2022.
July 23, 2026
MMA members are encouraged to vote for incoming MMA leadership during the month of August as part of MMA’s annual leadership election process.