The No Surprises Act Changed Everything for Non-Par Providers — Eliott Dear Explains How to Use It

Before January 2022, out-of-network providers had almost no leverage against insurers who underpaid claims. You could appeal. You could negotiate. You could threaten to sue. But the insurer held all the cards, because they controlled the timeline and the payment amount.

The No Surprises Act changed that equation. For the first time, federal law created a mandatory arbitration process — Independent Dispute Resolution, or IDR — that forces insurers to the table. If a provider and an insurer cannot agree on payment for an out-of-network claim, either party can initiate IDR. A neutral arbitrator reviews both sides and picks one. That decision is binding.

Attorney Eliott Dear has been navigating dispute resolution for non-par providers since long before the federal law existed. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and formerly practicing in New York, Eliott Dear built his career on state-level surprise billing laws — particularly New York's, which predates the federal version by years and has established infrastructure that actually works.

The federal IDR system uses what is known as baseball arbitration. Both sides submit a proposed payment amount. The arbitrator picks one — no splitting the difference, no compromise. This creates a powerful incentive for insurers to submit reasonable numbers, because if they lowball, the arbitrator picks the provider's number instead.

But knowing the law exists and knowing how to use it are two different things. The federal IDR backlog is massive — hundreds of thousands of disputes waiting for resolution. Insurers have weaponized the delays, using procedural objections to slow cases down. Providers who do not understand the process or file incomplete submissions get bounced.

This is where Eliott Dear's approach differs from traditional billing companies. As an attorney, every IDR submission he files carries legal weight. The documentation is built to survive arbitrator scrutiny. The qualifying payment amounts are supported by statutory analysis, not just billing codes. And when state IDR offers a faster or more favorable path, he routes the claim there instead.

For emergency physicians, surgeons, and anesthesiologists who provide out-of-network care, the No Surprises Act is the most significant change to reimbursement in a generation. But the law only works if you know how to use it. Claims Assassins, founded by Eliott Dear, handles the entire process from initial claim through IDR resolution — attorney-signed, fully documented, built to win.

Contact Eliott Dear at edear@edrtb.com or (646) 387-9133.

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