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Federal IDR · No Surprises Act

That payment is an opening offer.

Most practices treat a payer's out-of-network payment as the amount owed. Under the No Surprises Act it isn't — federal IDR exists to contest it.

Surgeon reviewing a payer remittance in a hospital corridor
88%
of properly filed federal IDR disputes get paid
5 min
to prepare a complete submission packet
Or we file it
our team handles every dispute end to end
June 2026
built for the current federal IDR rules

IDR is a process problem, not a legal mystery.

The rules and the deadlines are fixed. That is exactly what makes the work automatable.

Medical biller preparing a dispute submission at a standing desk

Never filed IDR?

We identify which claims qualify, assemble submissions, and manage every deadline without changing how you practice or bill.

Start with one denied claim

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We'd welcome a short call to see if this is worth pursuing.

Already using a contingency firm?

Sydra runs per-claim/subscription pricing instead of a percentage of recovery, so costs stop scaling against you as your volume grows.

Compare your filing options

Book a demo

We'd welcome a short call to see if this is worth pursuing.

Run an RCM company?

IDR is still mostly manual work. Sydra supplies the automation layer so you can add or expand an IDR service line without scaling headcount, white-label available.

See Sydra at billing company volume

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We'd welcome a short call to see if this is worth pursuing.

Run a contingency firm?

Same engine, aimed at recoveries per FTE — automating the mechanical steps makes smaller claims worth pursuing and frees your team for the disputes where judgment matters.

See the per FTE argument

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We'd welcome a short call to see if this is worth pursuing.

What this looks like in practice

Two anonymized examples from Sydra's book of business. The first shows the gap between what payers initially pay and what federal IDR can award. The second compares Sydra's outcomes against the contingency firm the practice used previously.

Practice A — plastic & reconstructive surgery

Source: 2025 Public Use File (PUF) data, Quarter 4

Practice A, plastic and reconstructive surgery: area payment benchmarks by CPT code
CPT CodeDescriptionArea Avg Initial PaymentMedianCase Example
19318Breast reduction$2,031.61$1,479.26QPA $2,500 → award $50,742.00 (20.30x QPA)1
15734Muscle/myocutaneous flap$2,623.45$968.18
19357Breast reconstruction (tissue expander)$2,048.21$1,863.53
19364Free flap breast reconstruction$3,116.33$747.71

1 Single case. Not a typical or expected result.

Practice B — established IDR filer, switched from a contingency firm

The 88% figure above is the federal record across every filer in the CMS dataset (Georgetown University CHIR, March 2026). The rate below is one Sydra client's own outcome across its decided cases. They measure different things and neither predicts the other.

Practice B: Sydra outcomes compared with the contingency firm the practice used previously
MetricSydraPrior Contingency Firm
Decided cases11376
Win rate92%82.9%
Loss rate8%17.1%
Fee structurePer-claim / subscription20% contingency

Disclaimer: The figures above reflect actual outcomes for specific Sydra clients and are presented with client permission. Practice names and identifying details have been removed. Payment averages and medians are derived from the 2025 federal Independent Dispute Resolution Public Use File (PUF), Quarter 4, and reflect reported activity for the referenced procedure codes in the applicable geographic region; they are not Sydra performance figures. Individual case examples are single outcomes and are not typical, average, or expected results. Win rates reflect decided cases only for the referenced client over the period measured and do not include withdrawn, ineligible, or pending disputes. Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. Eligibility for federal IDR, applicable deadlines, and award amounts depend on the specific facts of each claim, the applicable plan, and current federal regulations, which are subject to change. Nothing on this page is legal, financial, billing, or coding advice. Sydra is not a law firm and does not provide legal representation.

Clinician and a practice advisor reviewing claim figures on a tablet in a hospital lobby

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