WASHINGTON STATE -- Employers who self-fund their company's health insurance plans have less than two weeks to make sure their employees are protected from unfair medical bills. The state just extended the deadline for self-funding employers to opt-in and be covered by the new surprise medical billing law.

Under the Balanced Billing Protection Act, starting January first, if you're hospital is in-network, you are only responsible for paying your in-network cost-sharing amount.

"It's between the hospital and doctor and insurance company," Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler told KOMO News in November. "Let them fight it out. But get the consumer out of the equation. We're going to succeed at that."

But there's a catch. If your employer pays for a self-funded health plan, which includes hundreds of businesses, Kreidler says his office has no authority to require compliance.

"However, the self-insured plans, we're seeing here in the state of Washington a significant number of them who are voluntarily coming forward and saying, we want to be part of this surprise billing legislation."

The deadline for self-funded plans to opt-in was last month. But Kreidler's office wants to make sure every self-funding employer understands what's at stake. So, for self-funded health plan coverage that starts January 1, 2020, the deadline for employers to opt-in and participate in the new surprise billing law is now December 27, 2019. For self-funded health plan coverage that starts February 1, employers must opt-in by January 25, 2020.

"Generally, it's in the employer's best interest too, because the last thing they want -- is to have unhappy employees that are getting dinged for medical bills that they shouldn't have to pay," Kreidler said.

If you work for a private employer who offers a self-funded health insurance plan, contact your HR Department and make sure they know about both the Balanced Billing Protection Act, and the new deadline for self-funded plans to be included in the law that protects you and your co-workers.