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News Articles: surprise medical bills

President Donald Trump speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 6, 2025.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Trump vowed to end surprise medical bills. The team working on that just got slashed

Trump's first round of staff cuts to federal agencies eliminated dozens of positions at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, in charge of implementing the No Surprises Act.

March 04, 2025
|
By:
  • Noam Levey
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
After her pregnancy, Danielle Laskey discovered the hospital was out of network for her health plan, and her insurer said surprise-billing laws protecting patients from big out-of-network bills for emergency care did not apply

Tagged as: 

  • Health

A surprise-billing law loophole? Her pregnancy led to a six-figure hospital bill

Billing experts and lawmakers are playing catch-up as providers get around new consumer protections, leaving patients like Danielle Laskey of Washington state with big bills for emergency care.

February 28, 2023
|
By:
  • Harris Meyer
Paul Davis is a retired physician in Findlay, Ohio, who gets weekly treatments of the drug Kimmtrak to help stave off the progression of his rare cancer — uveal melanoma. He worries the accumulating cost of the drug — nearly $50,000/week if he has to pay it out of pocket — could saddle his family with crushing medical debt after he's gone.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Nearly $50,000 a week for a cancer drug? A man worries about bankrupting his family

Medicare suddenly stopped paying for the pricey drug that prolongs his life. As he waits for an appeal, this retired physician wonders if he should give up treatment to spare his family the cost.

February 14, 2023
|
By:
  • Fred Schulte
Sugar and Greg Bull play with their twins, Redford and Scarlett, who were born prematurely in 2020. Their insurance company initially said the births were not an emergency, and the family ended up with bills totaling more than $80,000.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

An $80,000 surprise bill points to a loophole in a new law to protect patients

An insurer refused to pay bills related to the premature birth of the Bull family's twins because it said their delivery wasn't an emergency and their stays in the NICU weren't medically necessary.

February 23, 2022
|
By:
  • Jay Hancock
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra says doctors who are balking at the rules of the No Surprises Act aren't looking out for patients. "I don't think when someone is overcharging that it's going to hurt the overcharger to now have to [accept] a fair price," Becerra says. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Biden team's rules would push insurance premiums down by 0.5% to 1%.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Doctors are mad about surprise billing rules. Becerra says stop gouging patients

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says health providers who have exploited a complicated system to charge exorbitant rates will have to bear their share of the cost — or close.

November 22, 2021
|
By:
  • Michael McAuliff
Jason Dean received six stitches and a tetanus shot after he cut his knee in May. In August, his wife, DeeAnn, feared going to the same emergency room where he was treated, delaying her diagnosis of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

The ER charged him $6,589.77 for 6 stitches, a cost that led his wife to avoid the ER

With few options for health care in their rural community, a Tennessee couple's experience with one outrageous bill could have led to a deadly delay when they needed help the most.

November 22, 2021
|
By:
  • Blake Farmer
Some doctors, medical associations and members of Congress are complaining that the rule released by the Biden administration this fall for implementing the law to stop surprise medical bills actually favors insurers and doesn't follow the spirit of the legislation.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Biden's plan to stop surprise medical bills faces bipartisan pushback in Congress

Congress passed a law last year to shield patients from surprise out-of-network medical charges. But many doctors in the House now say the way the law is to be implemented unfairly favors insurers.

November 17, 2021
|
By:
  • Michael McAuliff
The No Surprises Act is intended to stop surprise medical bills. It could also slow the growth of health insurance premiums.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Coming soon, a surprise billing law may have unintended effects on health care

The new law means patients can't get hit with pricey, unexpected medical bills. Some experts say the regulation could also slow the growth of health insurance premiums.

October 14, 2021
|
By:
  • Julie Appleby
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
A car accident in 2019 smashed six of Mark Gottlieb's teeth and severely damaged four vertebrae. The spinal surgery he needed as a result led to medical bills that exhausted the personal injury coverage in his auto insurance.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Surprise: The Charge For His Spine Surgery After A Car Crash Topped $700,000

Generous personal injury coverage on your auto insurance policy may not be enough to cover your medical bills. Patients can get financially blindsided when car and health insurance policies differ.

April 22, 2021
|
By:
  • Julie Appleby

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Her Doctor's Office Moved 1 Floor Up. Why Did Her Treatment Cost 10 Times More?

Same building. Same procedure. Same doctor. But there was an extra "facility fee" because the location changed slightly. A shot that used to cost her about $30 went up to more than $300.

March 26, 2021
|
By:
  • Lauren Weber
Mikkel and Kayla Kjelshus' daughter, Charlie, had a complication during delivery that caused her oxygen levels to drop and put her at risk for brain damage. Charlie needed seven days of neonatal intensive care, which resulted in a huge bill — $207,455 for the NICU alone — and confusion over which parent's insurer would cover the little girl's health costs.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

'Birthday Rule' Blindsides First-Time Parents With A Mammoth Medical Bill

An insurance regulation known as "the birthday rule" is tripping up couples who are putting their newborn children on the wrong policy and risk losing thousands of dollars.

January 27, 2021
|
By:
  • Cara Anthony
Congress passed a measure to curb surprise medical bills as part of the pandemic stimulus deal.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Congress Acts To Spare Consumers From Costly Surprise Medical Bills

Congress has passed a long-debated measure to stop health care providers from billing patients for charges not covered by their insurance. Here's how the new protection works.

December 22, 2020
|
By:
  • Julie Appleby
All health plans sold on HealthCare.Gov or one of state insurance exchanges are governed by Affordable Care Act rules. That means they have to provide comprehensive benefits to all applicants, regardless of their health or "preexisting conditions." But short-term plans and many others aren't bound by such restrictions.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Think Your Health Care Costs Are Covered? Beware The 'Junk' Insurance Plan

Whether you're looking for coverage online or through a broker, be sure to note the difference between a comprehensive health plan and a "junk" plan with limited benefits and coverage restrictions.

December 03, 2020
|
By:
  • Michelle Andrews

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