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Diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, a California man was prescribed a drug that costs thousands of dollars a month. He said he was reassured that the drugmaker鈥檚 copay card would cover his share, but after two months, the card was empty.
A Wisconsin retiree with glaucoma needed her eyes examined. Her Medicare Advantage plan from UnitedHealthcare listed her optometrist鈥檚 clinic as in-network, but she learned the hard way that a clinic can be in-network and out-of-network at the same time.
This installment of InvestigateTV and 杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News鈥 鈥淐ostly Care鈥 series explores how administrative errors can leave patients on the hook for bills they shouldn鈥檛 owe 鈥 sometimes with few options to correct a problem they didn鈥檛 create.
As the crowdsourced investigative series from 杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News approaches its eighth anniversary, 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 offers its top takeaways of 2025 to help patients manage, decipher, and even fight their medical bills.
Homemade hot sauce sent a Colorado man to the emergency room with what he called 鈥渢he worst pain of my life.鈥 But stomach cramps were only the beginning. Two years later, the bill came.
After her son contracted a serious bacterial infection, an Ohio mother took the toddler to a nearby ER, and staffers there sent him to a children鈥檚 hospital in an ambulance. With no insurance, the family was hit with a $9,250 bill for the 40-minute ride.
The record-long federal shutdown is over after a small group of Democrats agreed to a deal with most Republicans that funds the government through January 鈥 but, notably, does not extend more generous Affordable Care Act tax credits. Plus, new details are emerging about how the Trump administration is using the Medicaid program to advance its policy goals. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News鈥 Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, 杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner interviews 杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News鈥 Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature.
A doctor in Colorado became the patient after an accident totaled her car and sent her to the operating room. The hospital kept her overnight, but her insurer stopped paying after she left the emergency room.
Even if people qualify for financial help with their hospital bills, the care they receive may not be covered.
Some states are enacting medical debt laws as the Trump administration pulls back federal protections. Elsewhere, industry opposition has derailed legislation.
A kindergartner in Missouri needed eye surgery. Her insurer granted approval for her to see a specialist nearby, yet her parents were confused when they still owed more than $13,000. Then her uncle, a former state senator, reached out to a colleague who contacted the hospital and the insurer.
杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
The No Surprises Act, which was signed in 2020 and took effect in 2022, was heralded as a landmark piece of legislation that would protect people who had health insurance from receiving surprise medical bills. And yet bills that take patients by surprise keep coming.
A Colorado bill banning surprise billing for ambulance rides passed unanimously in both legislative chambers, only to be met with a veto from the governor. As more states pass such legislation, some are hitting the same snag 鈥 concerns about raising premiums.
Patient advocates say they frequently hear from people who thought they didn鈥檛 need to sign up for Medicare when they turned 65 because they had group health coverage. That delay sometimes forces people to cover medical expenses themselves.
Federal law says Medicaid must cover out-of-state emergency care. But a Florida man got a five-figure bill after a South Dakota hospital declined to charge his state鈥檚 Medicaid program.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade 鈥 as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News鈥 Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.
Carmen Aiken of Chicago thought their medical appointment would be covered because the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to pay for a long list of preventive services. But after the appointment, Aiken received a bill for more than $1,400.
Emotionally overwhelmed, an Indiana woman dialed a mental health hotline. She didn鈥檛 find the help she was looking for and hung up. Ultimately, she was handcuffed and hospitalized overnight. Now, amid federal cuts, she and others fear the U.S. response to similar crises will revert to more responses like that.
The governor鈥檚 fiscal year 2026 budget revises a law designed to limit unexpected bills that can put people at risk for unfair medical billing practices and reduce medical debt. Consumer groups say it doesn鈥檛 go far enough.
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