A breast cancer patient who received similar treatments in two states saw significant differences in cost, illuminating how care in remote areas can come with a stiffer price tag.
Medicare was supposed to cover the entire cost of his procedure. But the anesthesia provider failed to file its claims in a timely manner and billed the patient instead.
One North Carolina family's six-figure medical bill came from a state hospital. The attorney general, who is running for governor and says he's against high medical costs, tried to collect the debt.
After emergency gallbladder surgery, a Tennessee woman said she spent months without a permanent mailing address and never got a bill from the hospital. She ended up in court a few years later.
After emergency surgery, an American expatriate now carries the baggage of a five-figure bill. Costs for medical care in the U.S. can be two to three times the rates in other developed countries.
Doctors rushed a pregnant woman to a surgeon who charged thousands upfront just to see her. The case reveals a gap in medical billing protections for those with rare, specialized conditions.
A Florida woman tried to dispute an emergency room bill, but the hospital and collection agency refused to talk to her — because it was her child's name on the bill, not hers.
A family had more than $12,000 in medical bills they couldn't explain after their baby was delivered early. It turns out the doctors who cared for her worked at a different, out-of-network hospital.
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.
Some doctors and medical practices voluntarily give rebates on a bill if an injury occurs during a procedure, while others will not, a medical ethicist says. Here's how patients can respond.
Russell Cook expected a quick, inexpensive visit to an urgent care center for his daughter after a car wreck. She wasn't badly hurt, but they were sent to an emergency room — for a much larger bill.
A hospital's cost calculator said her procedure would be $1,400 for patients without insurance. Instead, the bill was almost $18,000 and, her part was more than $5,000 — the balance of her deductible.
Preventive care, like screening colonoscopies, is supposed to be free of charge to patients under the Affordable Care Act. But some hospitals haven't gotten the memo.
