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

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.

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.

(Image credit: Jovelle Tamayo for Kaiser Health News)

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Phil Galewitz