A Seattle patient discovers the hard way that you can still hit a lifetime limit for certain types of care. And health plans can vary a lot from one job to the next, even if the insurer is the same.
Category: Bill Of The Month
Bye-Bye to Health Insurance ‘Birthday Rule’? Kansas Lawmaker Floats Fix
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) introduced a bill to do away with a health insurance rule that dictates which parent’s plan becomes a new baby’s primary insurer. This could save some parents from unexpected, sometimes massive medical bills. Davids took up the issue after a KHN/NPR Bill of the Month story on one family’s unexpected $207,455 NICU bill.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Here Comes Reconciliation
Democrats in Congress reached a tentative agreement to press ahead on a partisan bill that would dramatically expand health benefits for people on Medicare, those who buy their own insurance and individuals who have been shut out of coverage in states that didn’t expand Medicaid. Meanwhile, controversy continues to rage over whether vaccinated Americans will need a booster to protect against covid-19 variants, and who will pay for a new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a mother and daughter who fought an enormous emergency room bill.
How ERs Fail Patients With Addiction: One Patient’s Tragic Death
Two intractable failings of the U.S. health care system — addiction treatment and medical costs — come to a head in the ER, where patients desperate for addiction treatment arrive, only to find the facility may not be equipped to deal with substance use or, if they are, treatment is prohibitively expensive.
A Hospital Charged $722.50 to Push Medicine Through an IV. Twice.
A college student never got an answer for what caused her intense pain, but she did get a bill that totaled $18,736 for an ER visit. She and her mom, a nurse practitioner, fought to understand all the charges.
Enough to Wreck Their Rest: $10,322 for a Sleep Study
The University of Miami Health System charges a truck driver six times what Medicare would pay for an overnight test.
Watch: What Happens When Car and Health Insurance Collide
KHN Editor-in-Chief Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal helps accident victims avoid pitfalls in seeking medical care — a conundrum profiled in KHN-NPR’s most recent Bill of the Month installment.
After Accident, Patient Crashes Into $700,000 Bill for Spine Surgery
Generous personal injury coverage on your car policy may not be enough to cover medical bills. Patients can get financially blindsided when auto insurance and health insurance policies differ.
Her Doctor’s Office Moved One Floor Up. Her Bill Was 10 Times Higher.
Same building. Same procedure. Same doctor. But now you’re charged a hospital facility fee. For one Ohio Medicare patient, the copay for a shot that used to cost her about $30 went up to more than $300.
College Tuition Sparked a Mental Health Crisis. Then the Hefty Hospital Bill Arrived.
A student sought counseling help after feeling panicked when she had trouble paying a big tuition bill. A weeklong stay in a psychiatric hospital followed — along with a $3,413 bill. The hospital soft-pedaled its charity care policy.
