What federal IDR costs, and how our flat fee works
If you have looked at No Surprises Act arbitration and come away confused about the fees, you are not alone. There are two separate government fees, one of them is refundable, and what you pay a filing firm on top varies by a factor of ten. This page lays out all of it.
The short version: every federal IDR dispute carries a $15 non-refundable administrative fee per party, plus a certified IDR entity fee of roughly $600 to $1,200 that both parties deposit upfront. The winner gets that deposit back, so a prevailing provider's government cost is usually just $15. The real cost difference is what you pay to prepare and file: contingency firms take roughly 15 to 35 percent of your award. Lido IDR charges a flat fee per filing, and the award is entirely yours.
The two government fees on every dispute
Both fees are set by regulation and apply no matter who files for you.
| Fee | Amount | Who pays | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative fee | $15 per party per dispute | Both parties | No |
| Certified IDR entity fee | Typically $600 to $800 single, $800 to $1,200 batched | Both parties deposit upfront | Yes, refunded to the prevailing party |
The administrative fee goes to the federal government and covers the cost of running the portal. It was $115 per party for most of the program's history. A rule finalized in May 2026 cut it to $15 for disputes initiated on or after June 11, 2026, which removed most of the fixed cost that used to make small-dollar claims not worth arbitrating.
The certified IDR entity fee is the arbiter's own charge. Each certified IDR entity publishes its fee schedule within ranges CMS permits, which is why you see a range rather than one number. Both parties deposit it after the IDR entity is selected.
Who fronts the money, and who gets it back
This is the question we hear most from billing teams, so here is the sequence exactly as it plays out. When the dispute is initiated, your side pays the $15 administrative fee. After an IDR entity is selected, your side deposits the IDR entity fee, and the health plan deposits the same amount on its side. Both offers go in, the arbiter picks one, and then the money moves: the prevailing party's deposit is refunded, typically within about 30 business days of the decision, while the losing party's deposit stays with the IDR entity as payment for the arbitration.
So yes, the provider fronts the deposit on every dispute, win or lose. But because the deposit comes back on a win, the lasting government cost of a won dispute is the $15 administrative fee. Providers prevailed in 85.8 percent of decided federal IDR disputes from 2023 through 2025, per the CMS public use files, so for a well-selected book of claims the deposits function as working capital rather than spend. If fronting deposits at your volume is the thing stopping you from filing, raise it on the call. There are ways to structure around it.
Batching: one arbitration fee across many claims
Batching is the biggest lever on per-claim cost. A batched dispute puts multiple qualified claim lines in front of the arbiter under a single IDR entity fee. The current cap is 25 line items per batch, and it rises to 50 line items for disputes initiated on or after November 1, 2026.
The arithmetic is blunt. A $1,000 batched deposit spread across 25 lines is $40 of fronted fee per line. The same claims filed individually would each carry their own $600 to $800 deposit. Groups that file without batching correctly, or whose vendor files singles because it is easier, are paying many times more per claim than they need to, and it comes out of the same pocket either way. Batching rules depend on the payer, the codes, and timing windows, which is exactly the kind of eligibility logic software is better at than a paralegal with a spreadsheet.
What filing help costs
The government fees are the small part. The large and controllable part is what you pay whoever prepares and files your disputes.
Contingency. Most law firms and IDR vendors charge a percentage of recoveries, commonly in the range of 15 to 35 percent. On a $10,000 award that is $1,500 to $3,500 for one dispute. Contingency made sense when IDR was new and outcomes were uncertain. Three years and 3.39 million disputes later, the process is standardized, the deadlines are knowable, and providers win most decided disputes. A percentage of every award is a lot to pay for form preparation and deadline tracking, and it scales against you: the better your awards get, the more you hand over.
Flat fee. Lido IDR charges a flat fee per filing. No percentage of the award, no minimums buried in an exhibit, no clawback surprises. When the arbiter rules in your favor, every dollar of the award is yours. The fee depends on your claim volume and mix, so we quote it for your group on a 30 minute call rather than printing a number that would be wrong for half the groups reading this.
The audit is free and benchmarks your group against the CMS public use files. No patient data required.
A worked example
Say an out-of-network group batches 25 emergency claim lines against one payer. The group pays the $15 administrative fee and fronts a $1,000 batched IDR entity deposit. The plan deposits its own $1,000. The arbiter rules for the group, as it does in most decided disputes. The $1,000 deposit comes back within about 30 business days. Net government cost for arbitrating 25 claims: $15. The award, at the 2023 through 2025 median, lands around 4.7 times the qualifying payment amount the plan based its original payment on. What the group keeps from there depends entirely on whether its filer charges a percentage of the award or a flat fee.
Fee questions, answered
How much does it cost to file a No Surprises Act IDR dispute?
Two government fees apply: a $15 non-refundable administrative fee per party, and a certified IDR entity fee of typically $600 to $800 for a single determination or $800 to $1,200 for a batched one, which both parties deposit and the winner gets back. On top of that you pay your filer: contingency firms commonly take 15 to 35 percent of the award, while Lido IDR charges a flat fee per filing.
Who pays the IDR entity fee, and when is it refunded?
Both parties deposit it upfront after the IDR entity is selected. The prevailing party's deposit is refunded, typically within about 30 business days of the decision. The losing party's deposit pays for the arbitration.
Is the $15 administrative fee refundable?
No. Each party pays it and it is not refunded regardless of outcome. It was $115 before the May 2026 rule reduced it to $15 for disputes initiated on or after June 11, 2026.
How many claims can be batched into one dispute?
Up to 25 line items per batch today, rising to 50 for disputes initiated on or after November 1, 2026. One IDR entity fee covers the whole batch, which is why batching correctly is the biggest lever on per-claim cost.
What does Lido IDR charge?
A flat fee per filing, quoted for your volume and claim mix on a 30 minute call. There is no percentage of the award. You also keep the government fee refunds on disputes you win.
Can you help if we cannot front the IDR entity deposits?
Deposits come back on wins, and providers win most decided disputes, so at steady state the fronted amount is a rolling float rather than spend. If the float itself is the blocker at your volume, tell us on the call. There are ways to structure it.
Where these numbers come from
Government fee amounts come from the federal IDR rules and current CMS guidance, including the May 2026 rule that reset the administrative fee effective June 11, 2026 and the batching changes effective November 1, 2026. Win rates and award multiples are computed from the CMS federal IDR public use files covering 3.39 million disputes from 2023 through 2025. You can explore that data yourself at idrexplorer.com. For how the fees fit the broader filing timeline, see our plain-language guide to IDR fees and the rest of the answers hub.