Federal Independent Dispute Resolution Operations
Built by the Tribune's code from the Federal Register. No AI wrote this page. Published in the Federal Register June 4, 2026. Document 2026-11140. Updated Nov. 10, 2026.
- What it does
This document sets forth these final rules related to certain provisions of the No Surprises Act regarding the Federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) process, which was established as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). These rules finalize new requirements relating to the disclosure of information that group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage must include along with the initial payment or notice of denial of payment for certain items and services subject to the surprise billing protections in the No Surprises Act. These final rules also require plans and issuers to communicate information by using claim adjustment reason codes (CARCs) and remittance advice remark codes (RARCs), as specified in guidance, when providing any paper or electronic remittance advice (ERA) to an entity that does not have a contractual relationship with the plan or issuer. This document also finalizes amendments to certain requirements related to the open negotiation period preceding the Federal IDR process, the initiation of the Federal IDR process, the Federal IDR dispute eligibility review process, and the payment and collection of administrative fees and certified IDR entity fees. This document also finalizes the definition of bundled payment arrangements, amends requirements related to batched items and services and amends the rules for extensions of timeframes due to extenuating circumstances. Additionally, this document finalizes provisions that require plans and issuers to register in the Federal IDR portal. In accordance with Federal law, a summary of these rules may be found at https://www.regulations.gov/.
The Internal Revenue Service's summary, as published in the Federal Register.
- What changed in the regulation
4 parts of Title 5, 26, 29, 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations:
5 CFR 890, 26 CFR 54, 29 CFR 2590, 45 CFR 149
Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).
- Compared with
The Internal Revenue Service has published 22 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 21 in all of 2025.
Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.
- Before this
2 earlier Federal Register documents under regulation identifier 0938-AV15, 1210-AC17, 1545-BQ55, 3206-AO48 since Jan. 1, 2025.
- Feb. 25, 2026 Proposed rule; Extension of comment period. Private Health Insurance; Transparency in Coverage; Extension of Comment Period
- Dec. 23, 2025 Proposed rule. Transparency in Coverage
Since then:
- What happens next and when
Effective date: These final rules are effective on August 3, 2026.
The agency's dates, word for word.
The record as published
| Document number | 2026-11140 |
|---|---|
| Action | Final rule. |
| Agencies | Personnel Management Office; Treasury Department; Internal Revenue Service; Labor Department; Employee Benefits Security Administration; Health and Human Services Department |
| Published | June 4, 2026 |
| Effective date | Aug. 3, 2026 |
| Regulation identifier (RIN) | 0938-AV15, 1210-AC17, 1545-BQ55, 3206-AO48 |
| Docket | OPM-2026-0331 |
| Significant (marked in the Federal Register) | Yes |
Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register