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.
Bill of the Month
This crowdsourced investigation by 杨贵妃传媒視頻 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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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.
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After Her Bout of Amnesia, a $59,000 Billing Dispute Wouldn鈥檛 Go Away
Last spring, a woman started exhibiting unusual memory problems after a hike in Arizona. It turns out she was experiencing a disorder called transient global amnesia. She has fully recovered, but a dispute over nearly $60,000 in hospital charges has been a source of stress for over a year.
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An Urgent Care Treated Her Allergic Reaction. An ER Monitored Her 鈥 For $6,700.
A bug bite and an allergic reaction ultimately sent a North Carolina woman to the emergency room, where she had a couple of brief chats with a doctor and a dose of medicine. Now she questions why the charges were so high.
By Andrew Jones
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.
101 - 120 of 194 Results
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Watch: Same Providers, Similar Surgeries, But Different Bills
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss the latest Bill of the Month installment, in which a man discovered the hard way that health plans can vary from one job to the next, even if the insurer is the same.
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Jaw Surgery Takes a $27,119 Bite out of One Man鈥檚 Budget
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.
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Watch: Cyclist Hits Olympic-Size Medical Bills After Crash
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal appears on "CBS This Morning" to discuss the latest installment of the KHN-NPR Bill of the Month investigative series.
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Olympic Dream Dashed After Bike Crash and Nightmare Medical Bill Over $200K
A bicyclist from California competed in a Pennsylvania race that could have landed him in this month鈥檚 Tokyo Olympics. Instead, a crash on the velodrome track landed him in two hospitals where his out-of-state, out-of-network surgeries garnered huge bills.
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Bye-Bye to Health Insurance 鈥楤irthday Rule鈥? 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鈥檚 plan becomes a new baby鈥檚 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鈥檚 unexpected $207,455 NICU bill.
By Cara Anthony -
KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: 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鈥檛 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鈥檚 disease. Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode about a mother and daughter who fought an enormous emergency room bill.
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How ERs Fail Patients With Addiction: One Patient鈥檚 Tragic Death
Two intractable failings of the U.S. health care system 鈥 addiction treatment and medical costs 鈥 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.
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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.
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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.
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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 鈥 a conundrum profiled in KHN-NPR's most recent Bill of the Month installment.
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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.
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Her Doctor鈥檚 Office Moved One Floor Up. Her Bill Was 10 Times Higher.
Same building. Same procedure. Same doctor. But now you鈥檙e 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.
By Lauren Weber -
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 鈥 along with a $3,413 bill. The hospital soft-pedaled its charity care policy.
By Jordan Rau -
Baby Blues: First-Time Parents Blindsided by 鈥榯he Birthday Rule鈥 and a $207,455 NICU Bill
Charlie Kjelshus needed neonatal intensive care for the first seven days of her life. The episode generated huge bills, and left her parents in a tangle of red tape that involved two insurers, two hospitals and two states.
By Cara Anthony -
Retiree Living the RV Dream Fights $12,387 Nightmare Lab Fee
A gynecologist in Carlsbad, New Mexico, tested the 60-year-old grandmother for various sexually transmitted infections without her knowledge. Her share of the lab fee was more than $3,000.
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Letters to the Editor
Readers and Tweeters Defend Front-Line Nurses and Blind Us With Science
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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After Kid鈥檚 Minor Bike Accident, Major Bill Sets Legal Wheels in Motion
It was a surprise even in a family of lawyers. The process called 鈥渟ubrogation鈥 began with one Nevada family鈥檚 health insurer denying their claim for an emergency room visit after 9-year-old fell off his bike.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: As Cases Spike, White House Declares Pandemic Over
Former President Barack Obama says President Donald Trump is 鈥渏ealous of COVID鈥檚 media coverage.鈥 Indeed, Trump has complained at his rallies, attended by mostly maskless supporters, about how the media covers the pandemic 鈥 at a time when cases are rising rapidly across the nation. Meanwhile, open enrollment is about to begin for the Affordable Care Act in a year when many people need coverage, but the law鈥檚 future is not secure. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Anna Almendrala about the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 installment.
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Savvy Patient Fought for the Price She Was Quoted 鈭 And Didn鈥檛 Give Up
A California woman thought the discount on her coinsurance before an operation sounded too good to be true. Turns out, she was right.
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Moved by Plight of Young Heart Patient, Stranger Pays His Hospital Bill
A retired college professor in Las Vegas saw Matthew Fentress鈥 story and felt called to help. So she paid off $5,000 of his medical bill. 鈥淲hen you help other people, it gives you joy,鈥 the Good Samaritan said.
By Laura Ungar