AZ SB1321

Requires the Arizona Department of Insurance director to produce a report on surprise billing in the state by January 1, 2018, with authority to contract with external entities.

Report must include analysis of federal and state surprise billing laws, comparison with other states' approaches, and data on surprise billing complaints filed with the department over the past five years.

Report shall identify current federal and state consumer resources and recommend policies to protect consumers from surprise bills.

Requires root cause analysis examining factors including out-of-network charges at in-network hospitals, network adequacy standards, consumer education gaps, provider consolidation, and accuracy of provider directories.

Defines "surprise billing" as charges from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities when patients are unaware of the provider's network status.