No Surprise Billing

The No Surprises Act is a federal law that went into effect on January 1, 2022.

It applies to most types of health insurance, and protects you from unexpected out-of-network medical bills from:

  • Emergency room visits
  • Non-emergency care related to a visit to an in-network hospital, hospital outpatient department, or ambulatory surgical center
  • Air ambulance services

Usually, if you don’t have or use health insurance, providers must give you a good faith estimate of what your care will cost.


Austin Emergency Centers implemented a no-surprise-bill policy before the 2022 legislation was enacted. Since then, none of our patients have received an unexpected charge from us. 

All services provided at our facilities, including specialists and other ancillary services, will appear in the invoice we provide after your visit. Because we directly employ all our doctors, you will never see a big bill from us.

Sadly, we cannot control everything the insurance companies do. Some of them have unlawfully tried to charge patients for emergency services.

Should you ever receive a surprise bill from your insurance company after visiting one of our centers, please contact the “No Surprises Help Desk” so we can address the issue of your surprise bill together. 


Texas Department of Insurance Help Line 800-252-3439