Surprise medical billing is a concern for more than 60% of respondents to a new National Association of Insurance Commissioners survey. The survey, conducted by the NAIC’s Center for Insurance Policy Research, found a majority of U.S. consumers are afraid that they or a family member will receive a bill for health care services that they did not expect. Out-of-network care can sometimes result in expensive charges that consumers don’t anticipate. Overall, 39% of consumers say they’ve been surprised by a bill after getting care in an emergency room, hospital or clinic, and 46% say those bills were greater than $1,000. Only 22% of the 2,006 survey respondents chose the right answer in a multiple-choice quiz asking them to define “surprise medical billing,” the survey results showed. While Iowa adopted surprise billing protections in 1999, the protections are limited, according to a December 2019 issue brief published by Iowa’s Legislative Services Agency. In addition to contacting the Iowa Insurance Division to see what assistance it can provide, consumers can also contact their insurance and health care providers to see if they can negotiate a lower rate.