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Federal Independent Dispute Resolution Operations Final Rules
In the Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) Operations final rules released on May 28, 2026, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (the Departments) and the Office of Personnel Management finalized updated standards for group health plans and health insurance issuers (also known as “payers”); providers, facilities, and providers of air ambulance services (also known as “providers”); and certified IDR entities related to the Federal IDR process under the No Surprises Act (NSA).
These final rules will improve the functioning of the Federal IDR process by streamlining communication between payers, providers, and certified IDR entities and clarifying timelines and processes.
“The No Surprises Act protects patients from unexpected medical bills while creating an arbitration process to resolve certain types of payment disputes between payers and providers, and this rule makes significant improvements to the arbitration,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “We are cutting fees, improving transparency, and restoring order to a system that was overwhelmed. This is about making government processes efficient, accountable, and focused on results.”
Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO)
Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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