Pharmaceutical companies will be paying for opioid abatement and treatment during 2022. When arbitration clauses designed to benefit employees or consumers are used to deny your rights, your Attorney General can get involved to waive arbitration and get you the compensation you deserve. If your woes include unpaid pandemic-related medical bills, your attorney general's consumer protection mediator can dismiss additional charges for services provided by out-of-network providers.

Your Attorney General Helps with Out-of-Network Medical Bills

If you're suffering the effect of out-of-network medical bills even though you went to an in-network medical center, your attorney general can help you. Two examples from a huge pile of complaints about out-of-network medical bills suffered at no fault of the patient are:

- Surgery performed by an out-of-network surgeon resulted in covered charges plus a $16,156 additional bill which the insurance company expected the patient to pay.

- A mother received a $36,000 neonatology bill after she gave birth to her child in an approved in-network hospital.

The Federal No Surprises Act

The No Surprises Act, effective January 1, 2020, reduces consumer's out-of-pocket expenses for medical bills. The No Surprises Act prohibits emergency out of network healthcare providers from charging additional fees when they perform inpatient or outpatient services in a network hospital or facility. Please file a complaint with your attorney general's consumer protection division for relief from unfair medical bills. Nevada's Bureau of Consumer Protection enforces laws for residents who complain about deceptive or unfair trade practices.

The Supreme Court Limits Mandatory Arbitration

In January 2022, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison with Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2022 to end or waive arbitration clauses in contracts that allow employers and large businesses to usurp employee or consumer rights. The arbitration clause implies that the corporation will resolve legal disputes equitably for employees or consumers.

Lawsuits can take months or years at great expense to the 'wronged' employee or consumer before the corporation invokes their arbitration clause. The arbitration clause holds the corporation harmless beyond the agreed settlement.

In Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., Robyn Morgan claimed that Taco Bell in Osceola, Iowa, did not pay her for her overtime hours. Imagine her distress when her employer, the owner of 150 Taco Bells, litigated her case for eight months before dismissing it during arbitration.

Immigrants and Temporary Workers No Longer Denied Temporary Assistance

Twenty-one attorney generals petitioned the U.S. Department of State to formally rescind former President Trump's U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulation that forbid refugees, immigrants, or temporary workers and their families from receiving basic health, nutrition, and housing assistance even temporarily when they enter the United States. The regulation caused fear and confusion. It stemmed from the federal government's definition of a 'public charge,' or one who is permanently dependent on public assistance for income or long-term care in an institution. A noncitizen public charge has never been eligible for immigration into the United States.

Attorney General James Victorious Over Opioids

Paraphrasing New York Attorney General James, no amount of money can pay for the human suffering or lives lost due to opioid abuse, but it does help that Teva, Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Rochester Drug Cooperative Inc. pay $1.5 billion for opioid treatment and recovery. Allergan is delivering $200 million to the state of New York for opioid abatement and is permanently out of the opioid business. Endo paid $50 million to Nassau and Suffolk counties for opioid abatement.

Your Attorney General Negotiated $26 Billion for Opioid Abatement

Johnson and Johnson, McKesson, Amerisource Bergen, and Cardinal Health owe $26 billion to alleviate opioid addiction and the pain and suffering caused by opioid distribution. Maryland Attorney General Frosh thanked Governor Hogan and the Opioid Operational Command Center for their role in achieving this goal which will pay $400 million to Marylanders over the next 18 years. The 'infusion of funds' is a statewide allocation for opioid abatement. Local governments were brought to the table to discuss the effects of opioids on their residents. Your attorney general's website will tell you how the funds are allocated in your state.

State Consumer Protection Agencies Help Residents

The Department of Motor Vehicles in New York recovered $7.17 million in motor vehicle titles and $4.87 million from car dealers and repair shops for consumers by National Consumer Protection Week during 2021. The Maryland Attorney General's Consumer Protection program collected more than $2 million for 8,000 consumers during 2021.