{"id":2824,"date":"2024-12-30T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=2824"},"modified":"2024-12-30T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T13:00:00","slug":"in-year-7-bill-of-the-month-gives-patients-a-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=2824","title":{"rendered":"In Year 7, \u2018Bill of the Month\u2019 Gives Patients a Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2024, our nationwide team of gumshoes set out to answer your most pressing questions about medical bills, such as: Can free preventive care really come with add-on bills for items like surgical trays<\/a>? Or, why does it cost so much to treat a rattlesnake bite<\/a>? Or, if it\u2019s called an urgent care emergency center, which is it<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Affording medical care continues to be among the top health concerns facing Americans today. In the seventh year of KFF Health News\u2019 \u201cBill of the Month\u201d series, readers shared<\/a> their most perplexing, vexing, and downright expensive medical bills and asked us to help figure out what happened. Our reporters analyzed $800,000 in charges, including more than $370,000 owed by 12 patients and their families.<\/p>\n

This year, we met several patients who fought back.<\/p>\n

Caitlyn Mai of Oklahoma City was preapproved for a hearing implant, yet for months she was still hounded by notices saying she owed $139,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To resolve the problem, Mai estimated she spent at least 12 hours on the phone doing tasks that typically fall to someone working in a hospital billing department. \u201cI said, \u2018I\u2019ve done your job for you \u2014 now can you please take it from here?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Jamie Holmes of Lynden, Washington, refused to buckle when a surgery center tried to make her pay<\/a> for two operations after she underwent only one \u2014 even after a collection agency sued her.<\/p>\n

She showed up at two court hearings and explained her side. \u201cI just got stonewalled so badly. They treated me like an idiot,\u201d she told \u201cBill of the Month.\u201d \u201cIf they\u2019re going to be petty to me, I\u2019m willing to be petty right back.\u201d<\/p>\n

As always, we reached out to medical billing experts for their takeaways and learned that these patients had the right idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what? It pays to be stubborn in situations like this,\u201d said Berneta Haynes, a senior attorney for the National Consumer Law Center who reviewed Holmes\u2019 bill for KFF Health News.<\/p>\n

From our curious, tireless \u201cBill of the Month\u201d team, happy holidays \u2014 and, when in doubt, don\u2019t pay the bill.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Colonoscopies Were Free. But the \u2018Surgical Trays\u2019 Came With $600 Price Tags.\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Samantha Liss,\u00a0<\/p>\n

January 25, 2024<\/p>\n

Health providers may bill however they choose \u2014 including in ways that could leave patients with unexpected bills for \u201cfree\u201d care. Routine preventive care saddled an Illinois couple with his-and-her bills for \u201csurgical trays.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWithout Medicare Part B\u2019s Shield, Patient\u2019s Family Owes $81,000 for a Single Air-Ambulance Flight\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Tony Leys,\u00a0<\/p>\n

February 27, 2024<\/p>\n

Sky-high bills from air-ambulance providers have sparked complaints and federal action in recent years. But a rural Tennessee resident fell through the cracks of billing protections \u2014 and a single helicopter ride could cost much of her estate’s value.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA Mom\u2019s $97,000 Question: How Was Her Baby\u2019s Air-Ambulance Ride Not Medically Necessary?\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Molly Castle Work,\u00a0<\/p>\n

March 25, 2024<\/p>\n

There are legal safeguards to protect patients from big bills like out-of-network air-ambulance rides. But insurers may not pay if they decide the ride wasn\u2019t medically necessary.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSign Here? Financial Agreements May Leave Doctors in the Driver\u2019s Seat\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Katheryn Houghton,\u00a0<\/p>\n

April 30, 2024<\/p>\n

Agreeing to an out-of-network doctor\u2019s own financial policy \u2014 which generally protects their ability to get paid and may be littered with confusing insurance and legal jargon \u2014 can create a binding contract that leaves a patient owing.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHe Fell Ill on a Cruise. Before He Boarded the Rescue Boat, They Handed Him the Bill.\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Bram Sable-Smith,\u00a0<\/p>\n

May 22, 2024<\/p>\n

A man from Michigan was evacuated from a cruise ship after having seizures. First, he drained his bank account to pay his medical bills.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s Called an Urgent Care Emergency Center \u2014 But Which Is It?\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Renuka Rayasam,\u00a0<\/p>\n

June 24, 2024<\/p>\n

Suffering stomach pain, a Dallas man visited his local urgent care clinic \u2014 or so he thought, until he got a bill 10 times what he\u2019d expected.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHer Hearing Implant Was Preapproved. Nonetheless, She Got $139,000 Bills for Months.\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Elisabeth Rosenthal,\u00a0<\/p>\n

July 17, 2024<\/p>\n

Even when patients double-check that their care is covered by insurance, health providers often send them bills as they haggle with insurers over reimbursement, which can last for months. It\u2019s stressful and annoying \u2014 but legal.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPatient Underwent One Surgery but Was Billed for Two. Even After Being Sued, She Refused To Pay.\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Tony Leys,\u00a0<\/p>\n

August 21, 2024<\/p>\n

A collection agency sought court authority to garnish a patient\u2019s wages to pay a disputed surgery bill. But after the patient showed up in court to argue the bill was bogus, the judge declined to let the bill collector seize her money.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIn Chronic Pain, This Teenager \u2018Could Barely Do Anything.\u2019 Insurer Wouldn\u2019t Cover Surgery.\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Lauren Sausser,\u00a0<\/p>\n

September 25, 2024<\/p>\n

An Alabama teen was told he needed surgery for debilitating hip pain. But his family\u2019s insurer denied coverage for the procedure, which lacked a medical billing code. Expected to pay more than $7,000, his father charged it to credit cards.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tToddler\u2019s Backyard Snakebite Bills Totaled More Than a Quarter Million Dollars\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Jackie Forti\u00e9r,\u00a0<\/p>\n

October 30, 2024<\/p>\n

For snakebite victims, antivenom is critical \u2014 and costly. It took more than $200,000 worth of antivenom to save one toddler\u2019s life after he was bitten by a rattlesnake.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA Toddler Got a Nasal Swab Test but Left Before Seeing a Doctor. The Bill Was $445.\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Bram Sable-Smith,\u00a0<\/p>\n

November 27, 2024<\/p>\n

A mom in Peoria, Illinois, took her 3-year-old to the ER one evening last December. While they were waiting to be seen, the toddler seemed better, so they left without seeing a doctor. Then the bill came.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHe Went in for a Colonoscopy. The Hospital Charged $19,000 for Two.\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

By Harris Meyer,\u00a0<\/p>\n

December 19, 2024<\/p>\n

A man in Chicago with a troubling symptom underwent a common procedure. Then he wanted to know why the hospital charged nearly three times its own cost estimate.<\/p>\n

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Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by KFF Health News<\/a> and The Washington Post\u2019s Well+Being<\/a> that dissects and explains medical bills.\u00a0Since 2018, this series has helped many patients and readers get their medical bills reduced, and it has been cited in statehouses, at the U.S. Capitol, and at the White House. Do you have a confusing or outrageous medical bill you want to share? Tell us about it<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n

KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

USE OUR CONTENT<\/h3>\n

This story can be republished for free (details<\/a>).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2024, our nationwide team of gumshoes set out to answer your most pressing questions about medical bills, such as: Can free preventive care really come with add-on bills for items like surgical trays? Or, why does it cost so much to treat a rattlesnake bite? Or, if it\u2019s called an urgent care emergency center,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2824"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}