She Left After Waiting Hours in the Emergency Room. The ER Billed Her Anyway.
Autumn Daniels went to the hospital with a severe migraine. After four hours in the waiting room, she left to try a different facility 鈥 but the ER still charged her.
Bill of the Month
This crowdsourced investigation by 51视频 Health News dissects and explains your medical bills every month in order to shed light on U.S. health care prices and to help patients learn how to be more active in managing costs.
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Her Breast MRI Was Approved, But That Didn鈥檛 Mean Her Insurance Would Pay
Stephanie Halver鈥檚 doctor recommended she get a breast MRI, partly because of her family鈥檚 cancer history. Her insurer approved the scan, but unlike mammograms, breast MRIs aren鈥檛 universally covered as zero-cost preventive care.
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Uninsured but Undaunted, a Surgical Patient Searched the Globe for a Deal
When surgery became unavoidable, a man with no insurance shopped around for the best price for a hernia repair 鈥 and saved thousands by traveling out of state.
By Paula Andalo -
She Struggled To Get a Lifesaving Drug Even After Insurers Vowed To Help
Margaret Hvatum ended up in the hospital after her insurer denied coverage of a medicine she relies on to boost her immune system. Hvatum got entangled in the preapproval process, which the insurance industry has vowed to improve.
Send us your medical bill
Do you have a medical bill that is exorbitant, baffling, infuriating, or all of the above? Send it to us and tell us about your experience.
181-197 of 197 results
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The $109K Heart Attack Bill Is Down To $332. What About Other Surprise Bills?
鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel any consumer should have to go through this,鈥 says Drew Calver, who faced a life-changing surprise bill from an Austin hospital after a heart attack last year. After attention as a "Bill of the Month" patient, he paid the hospital $332. But he worries about other patients with surprise bills.
By Chad Terhune -
Watch: What Happened To That $109,000 Heart Attack
The story of a Texas teacher who faced a surprise 鈥渂alance bill鈥 of almost twice his annual salary gets a surprise happy ending.
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A Jolt To The Jugular! You鈥檙e Insured But Still Owe $109K For Your Heart Attack
A Texas teacher, 44, faces a 鈥渂alance bill鈥 of almost twice his annual salary for a heart attack he never expected to have.
By Chad Terhune -
A Transgender Woman’s Quest For Surgery Caught In Political Crosswinds
Dramatic policy swings, from an unprecedented expansion of transgender rights under the Obama administration to the unpredictable reduction of trans rights under President Donald Trump, have left many trans Americans feeling the whiplash.
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A Transgender Woman鈥檚 鈥楤ait-And-Switch鈥 $92,000 Surgery Bill
After being promised a significant discount for paying cash upfront and forgoing insurance, a Wisconsin patient gets caught in the middle between hospital and insurer 鈥 and feels snookered by a last-minute surprise and billing snafu.
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Father’s And Son’s Injuries Lead To The Mother Of All Therapy Bills
A father and son suffered serious hand injuries nine days apart. They both needed surgery and lots of follow-up occupational therapy to rehab their hands. But insurance paid for just a fraction of those OT bills, and the family owed more than $8,500.
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Readers And Tweeters Are Buzzing Over 鈥楤ill Of The Month鈥
A crowdsourced investigation by KHN and NPR gives voice to those who are puzzled and outraged by medical invoices.
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Sticker Shock Jolts Oklahoma Patient: $15,076 For Four Tiny Screws
A woman with foot pain was floored by the high cost of titanium screws used in her surgery. 鈥淯nless the metal [was] mined on an asteroid, I do not know why it should cost that amount,鈥 she says.
By Liz Szabo -
A Tale Of Two CT Scanners 鈥 One Richer, One Poorer
Why is the price of a CT scan 33 times higher in an hospital emergency room than in an outpatient imaging center just down the street?
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Bill Of The Month: For Toenail Fungus, A $1,500 Prescription
How a prescription wiped out one woman鈥檚 health reimbursement account, raising questions about prescription drug price tags and about how health care professionals deal (or don鈥檛) with medical costs.
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Listen: Got A Sky-High Bill? Don’t Write The Check.
Have you gotten a medical bill that sounds way too expensive or is just downright confusing? Send it to us. KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal talks with NPR Morning Edition Host Steve Inskeep about the launch of 鈥淏ill Of The Month,鈥 KHN and NPR's new crowdsourced investigation.
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Bill Of The Month: A College Student’s $17,850 Drug Test
Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with NPR, kicks off a series that will examine and decode your perplexing medical bills.
By Fred Schulte -
Pain Hits After Surgery When A Doctor’s Daughter Is Stunned By $17,850 Urine Test
Elizabeth Moreno got hit with a $17,850 bill from a Texas lab after leaving a urine sample at her doctor鈥檚 office.
By Fred Schulte