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News Articles: Medical bills

Since 2018, "Bill of the Month" has investigated medical bills totaling almost $6.3 million — including nearly $2.8 million that patients were expected to pay out-of-pocket. Cited at statehouses, the U.S. Capitol, and the White House, the series has led to changes in health policy.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

'Bill of the Month': The series that dissects and slashes medical bills

Since 2018, readers and listeners sent KFF Health News-NPR's "Bill of the Month" thousands of questionable bills. Our crowdsourced investigation paved the way for landmark legislation and highlighted cost-saving strategies for all patients

December 20, 2024
|
By:
  • Elisabeth Rosenthal and
  • KFF Health News staff
On the last full day of a Bahamas excursion, Vincent Wasney had three epileptic seizures. While being evacuated, he received a bill for expenses incurred during the cruise.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

He fell ill on a cruise. Before he boarded the rescue boat, they handed him the bill

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

May 21, 2024
|
By:
  • Bram Sable-Smith

Tagged as: 

  • Health

She paid her husband's hospital bill. A year after his death, they wanted more money

Eloise Reynolds encountered a perplexing reality in medical billing: Providers can come after patients for more money well after a bill has been paid.

August 29, 2023
|
By:
  • Samantha Liss
When Kristie Fields was undergoing treatment for breast cancer nine years ago, a nurse suggested she go on the local news and ask for help with her medical bills. Fields says she and her husband quickly dismissed the idea.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

'We're not doing that': A Black couple won't crowdfund to pay medical debt

Kristie Fields, a cancer patient in Virginia was urged to go public to seek help for her medical bills. But she worried about feeding hurtful stereotypes.

June 28, 2023
|
By:
  • Noam Levey
In 2013, Grace E. Elliott spent a night in a hospital in Florida for a kidney infection that was treated with antibiotics. Eight years later, she got a large bill from the health system that bought the hospital. This bill was for an unrelated surgical procedure she didn't need and never received. It was a case of mistaken identity, she knew, but proving that wasn't easy.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

The case of the two Grace Elliotts: a medical bill mystery

A health system charged a woman for a shoulder replacement she didn't need and hadn't received. She didn't receive the care, but she did receive the bill — and some medical records of a stranger.

December 21, 2022
|
By:
  • Mark Kreidler
Insurers are complying with federal rules aimed at price transparency that took effect July 1, but consumer use of the data may have to wait until private firms synthesize it.

Tagged as: 

  • Health Care

Health insurance prices for care are now out there, but finding them is an ordeal

A dump of tens of thousands of colossal digital files from a single insurer is not unusual, and it'll be weeks before data firms can put the information in a usable format for employers and patients.

July 27, 2022
|
By:
  • Julie Appleby
The new rules will help people get upfront cost estimates for about 500 so-called "shoppable" services, meaning medical care they can schedule ahead of time.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

How much health insurers pay for almost everything is about to go public

New government rules are forcing insurers to post on websites what they pay for care or be fined, allowing consumers and employers to comparison shop for health services or negotiate better rates.

July 01, 2022
|
By:
  • Julie Appleby

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Sick and struggling to pay, 100 million people in the U.S. live with medical debt

The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.

June 16, 2022
|
By:
  • Noam Levey
A Google search for Obamacare plans can direct consumers to a series of "lead-generating" websites: nongovernmental webpages that connect insurance brokers to consumers.

Tagged as: 

  • Health Care

They thought they bought Obamacare plans. What they got wasn't insurance

Some consumers sign up for Obamacare and find out later they actually purchased a membership to a health care sharing ministry. But regulators and online advertising sites don't do much about it.

June 07, 2022
|
By:
  • Bram Sable-Smith
Claudia and Jesús Fierro of Yuma, Ariz., review their medical bills. They pay $1,000 a month for health insurance yet still owed more than $7,000 after two episodes of care at the local hospital.

Tagged as: 

  • Health Care

Hit with $7,146 for two hospital bills, a family sought health care in Mexico

A dad's COVID-19 and a mom's fainting spell cost thousands, so when their son dislocated his shoulder, they drove him to Mexicali, where facilities rival those in the U.S., and had him treated for $5.

April 27, 2022
|
By:
  • Paula Andalo
Suzanne and Jim Rybak, inside the craft room where their son, Jameson, would encourage Suzanne to make colorful beach bags, received a $4,928 medical bill months after it was supposedly resolved.

Tagged as: 

  • Health Care

Never-ending costs: When resolved medical bills keep popping up

A family received a $4,928 bill that was settled with the health system 18 months earlier, resurrecting painful memories. Hospital billing experts say this distressing scenario occurs frequently.

April 06, 2022
|
By:
  • Aneri Pattani | KAISER HEALTH NEWS
Ely Bair had two medically necessary jaw surgeries. For the first, in 2018, his share of the bill was $3,000. For the second, in 2019 after a job change, he was billed $27,000, even though he had the same insurance carrier.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Same Hospital And Insurer, But The Bill For His 2nd Jaw Procedure Was $24,000 More

To realign the man's jaw and ease his chronic pain and high blood pressure, he would need two operations, the surgeon said. Both procedures went well, but the patient was shocked by the second bill.

August 30, 2021
|
By:
  • Phil Galewitz
Vanderbilt University Medical Center bought the hospital in Lebanon, Tenn., from Community Health Systems in 2019, but the latter is still suing former patients over unpaid medical bills.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

A Health Care Giant Sold Off Dozens Of Hospitals — But Continued Suing Many Patients

As Community Health Systems has downsized, what remain are like zombie hospitals – little more than legal entities still taking patients to court even though the new owners don't sue.

July 28, 2021
|
By:
  • Blake Farmer
Jameson Rybak, son of Jim and Suzanne Rybak of Florence, S.C., struggled with opioid addiction and died of an overdose on June 9, 2020 — three months after he left a hospital ER because he feared he couldn't afford treatment.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

A Tragic Death Shows How ERs Fail Patients Who Struggle With Addiction

ER doctors wanted to hospitalize the young man to help ease his withdrawal from opioid dependence. But he declined because he couldn't afford it. His mom says no one told him he had financial options.

July 14, 2021
|
By:
  • Aneri Pattani
Truck driver José Mendoza has a Humana HMO plan through his employer. It has a $5,000 deductible and 50% coinsurance, leaving him financially vulnerable.

Tagged as: 

  • Health Care

A $10,322 Tab For A Sleep Apnea Study Is Enough To Wreck One Patient's Rest

The University of Miami Health System charged truck driver José Mendoza six times what Medicare would pay for an overnight test. He got trapped by his high-deductible health plan and sky-high billing.

May 27, 2021
|
By:
  • Michelle Andrews
  • Load More

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