On December 21, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which included a $900 billion COVID-19 relief and stimulus package and a new set of rules intended to address “surprise” medical billing. The No Surprises Act (the “Act”), which is part of the 2021 appropriations act, makes various changes to ERISA that are intended to ban the practice of “surprise” medical bills, which arise when a person covered by a group health plan unexpectedly receives emergency medical care from an out-of-network provider at an out-of-network facility or from an out-of-network provider at an in-network facility. In these instances, the out-of-network provider can bill the person for the difference between their charged rate and the amount an employer’s group health plan (or the insurer) agrees to pay, which is known as “balance billing.” The Act takes several steps to address this situation.