November/December 2017 | Page 10

G ove r n men t Re lat ions • Instruct providers to bill insurers directly, while also allowing consumers to trigger protections if they do receive a balance bill. • Instruct insurers to negotiate with providers to determine fair payment for the services that consumers receive. • Establish an independent arbitration process to determine fair payment if the insurer and provider are unable to come to an agreement on the reimbursement. HB 1553 was assigned to the House Health Committee and has not received any consideration to date. Opioid Prescribing Guidelines Sen. Gene Yaw introduced SB 655, legislation requiring mandatory implementation of opioid prescribing guidelines developed by the state’s Safe and Effective Prescribing Practices Task Force. Conven