No Surprises Act

Simple by design

Project Name

Consumer web app

Role

UX Designer

Content Writer

Date

01/15/2022

Overview

Under the No Surprises Act, out-of-network providers cannot send patients a balance bill for emergency treatment or for out-of-network care provided at an in-network hospital. Instead, the patient can only be charged their regular in-network cost-sharing amounts. This project focused on the consumer or patient persona, not the medical providers.

Problem statement

Despite seeking emergency care at in-network hospitals, between 20% to 25% of patients are unexpectedly treated by out-of-network emergency-room physicians, leading to surprise medical bills and increased financial burden. This disconnect between hospital network status and physician network participation highlights a critical gap in healthcare transparency and coordination, undermining patient trust and potentially discouraging timely access to emergency services.

Goal

Design a landing page with guidance for consumers to both inform users and empower them to take action, such as understanding their rights, and reporting surprise bills.

User research

I conducted user interviews to help define user needs and better understand frustrations and pain points from consumers (patients) which revealed very distinct user experiences.

As interviews wrapped up, I transitioned into creating an affinity map and plotted interview feedback that helped inform design and content decisions going forward.

Takeaways

Prices for medical care are generally opaque and can vary between states, so consumers wanted to know where they could find resources specific to their needs
Legal and insurance terms (like “in-network,” “emergency services,” “balance billing”) are hard to understand.
Consumers were hesitant to file a complaint without knowing costs and timing upfront
Most used a mobile device to file complaints so the dispute form itself had to be short
Document uploads had to be considered as part of the mobile experience
Many consumers don’t have access to itemized bills or explanations of benefits (EOBs). If they do, the paperwork is confusing and full of codes they don’t understand.