In Year 7, ‘Bill of the Month’ Gives Patients a Voice KFF Health News
In 2024, our nationwide team of gumshoes set out to answer your most pressing questions about medical bills, such as: Can free preventive care really come with add-on bills for items like surgical trays? Or, why does it cost so much to treat a rattlesnake bite? Or, if it’s called an urgent care emergency center, which is it?
Affording medical care continues to be among the top health concerns facing Americans today. In the seventh year of KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” series, readers shared their most perplexing, vexing, and downright expensive medical bills and asked us to help figure out what happened. Our reporters analyzed $800,000 in charges, including more than $370,000 owed by 12 patients and their families.
This year, we met several patients who fought back.
Caitlyn Mai of Oklahoma City was preapproved for a hearing implant, yet for months she was still hounded by notices saying she owed $139,000.
To resolve the problem, Mai estimated she spent at least 12 hours on the phone doing tasks that typically fall to someone working in a hospital billing department. “I said, ‘I’ve done your job for you — now can you please take it from here?’”
Jamie Holmes of Lynden, Washington, refused to buckle when a surgery center tried to make her pay for two operations after she underwent only one — even after a collection agency sued her.
She showed up at two court hearings and explained her side. “I just got stonewalled so badly. They treated me like an idiot,” she told “Bill of the Month.” “If they’re going to be petty to me, I’m willing to be petty right back.”
As always, we reached out to medical billing experts for their takeaways and learned that these patients had the right idea.
“You know what? It pays to be stubborn in situations like this,” said Berneta Haynes, a senior attorney for the National Consumer Law Center who reviewed Holmes’ bill for KFF Health News.
From our curious, tireless “Bill of the Month” team, happy holidays — and, when in doubt, don’t pay the bill.
The Colonoscopies Were Free. But the ‘Surgical Trays’ Came With $600 Price Tags.
By Samantha Liss,
January 25, 2024
Health providers may bill however they choose — including in ways that could leave patients with unexpected bills for “free” care. Routine preventive care saddled an Illinois couple with his-and-her bills for “surgical trays.”
Without Medicare Part B’s Shield, Patient’s Family Owes $81,000 for a Single Air-Ambulance Flight
By Tony Leys,
February 27, 2024
Sky-high bills from air-ambulance providers have sparked complaints and federal action in recent years. But a rural Tennessee resident fell through the cracks of billing protections — and a single helicopter ride could cost much of her estate’s value.
A Mom’s $97,000 Question: How Was Her Baby’s Air-Ambulance Ride Not Medically Necessary?
By Molly Castle Work,
March 25, 2024
There are legal safeguards to protect patients from big bills like out-of-network air-ambulance rides. But insurers may not pay if they decide the ride wasn’t medically necessary.
Sign Here? Financial Agreements May Leave Doctors in the Driver’s Seat
By Katheryn Houghton,
April 30, 2024
Agreeing to an out-of-network doctor’s own financial policy — which generally protects their ability to get paid and may be littered with confusing insurance and legal jargon — can create a binding contract that leaves a patient owing.
He Fell Ill on a Cruise. Before He Boarded the Rescue Boat, They Handed Him the Bill.
By Bram Sable-Smith,
May 22, 2024
A man from Michigan was evacuated from a cruise ship after having seizures. First, he drained his bank account to pay his medical bills.
It’s Called an Urgent Care Emergency Center — But Which Is It?
By Renuka Rayasam,
June 24, 2024
Suffering stomach pain, a Dallas man visited his local urgent care clinic — or so he thought, until he got a bill 10 times what he’d expected.
Her Hearing Implant Was Preapproved. Nonetheless, She Got $139,000 Bills for Months.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal,
July 17, 2024
Even when patients double-check that their care is covered by insurance, health providers often send them bills as they haggle with insurers over reimbursement, which can last for months. It’s stressful and annoying — but legal.
Patient Underwent One Surgery but Was Billed for Two. Even After Being Sued, She Refused To Pay.
By Tony Leys,
August 21, 2024
A collection agency sought court authority to garnish a patient’s wages to pay a disputed surgery bill. But after the patient showed up in court to argue the bill was bogus, the judge declined to let the bill collector seize her money.
In Chronic Pain, This Teenager ‘Could Barely Do Anything.’ Insurer Wouldn’t Cover Surgery.
By Lauren Sausser,
September 25, 2024
An Alabama teen was told he needed surgery for debilitating hip pain. But his family’s insurer denied coverage for the procedure, which lacked a medical billing code. Expected to pay more than $7,000, his father charged it to credit cards.
Toddler’s Backyard Snakebite Bills Totaled More Than a Quarter Million Dollars
By Jackie Fortiér,
October 30, 2024
For snakebite victims, antivenom is critical — and costly. It took more than $200,000 worth of antivenom to save one toddler’s life after he was bitten by a rattlesnake.
A Toddler Got a Nasal Swab Test but Left Before Seeing a Doctor. The Bill Was $445.
By Bram Sable-Smith,
November 27, 2024
A mom in Peoria, Illinois, took her 3-year-old to the ER one evening last December. While they were waiting to be seen, the toddler seemed better, so they left without seeing a doctor. Then the bill came.
He Went in for a Colonoscopy. The Hospital Charged $19,000 for Two.
By Harris Meyer,
December 19, 2024
A man in Chicago with a troubling symptom underwent a common procedure. Then he wanted to know why the hospital charged nearly three times its own cost estimate.
Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by KFF Health News and The Washington Post’s Well+Being that dissects and explains medical bills. Since 2018, this series has helped many patients and readers get their medical bills reduced, and it has been cited in statehouses, at the U.S. Capitol, and at the White House. Do you have a confusing or outrageous medical bill you want to share? Tell us about it!
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
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In the seventh year of KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” series, patients shared their most perplexing, vexing, and downright expensive medical bills, and reporters analyzed $800,000 in charges — including more than $370,000 owed by 12 patients and their families.
In 2024, our nationwide team of gumshoes set out to answer your most pressing questions about medical bills, such as: Can free preventive care really come with add-on bills for items like surgical trays? Or, why does it cost so much to treat a rattlesnake bite? Or, if it’s called an urgent care emergency center, which is it?
Affording medical care continues to be among the top health concerns facing Americans today. In the seventh year of KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” series, readers shared their most perplexing, vexing, and downright expensive medical bills and asked us to help figure out what happened. Our reporters analyzed $800,000 in charges, including more than $370,000 owed by 12 patients and their families.
This year, we met several patients who fought back.
Caitlyn Mai of Oklahoma City was preapproved for a hearing implant, yet for months she was still hounded by notices saying she owed $139,000.
To resolve the problem, Mai estimated she spent at least 12 hours on the phone doing tasks that typically fall to someone working in a hospital billing department. “I said, ‘I’ve done your job for you — now can you please take it from here?’”
Jamie Holmes of Lynden, Washington, refused to buckle when a surgery center tried to make her pay for two operations after she underwent only one — even after a collection agency sued her.
She showed up at two court hearings and explained her side. “I just got stonewalled so badly. They treated me like an idiot,” she told “Bill of the Month.” “If they’re going to be petty to me, I’m willing to be petty right back.”
As always, we reached out to medical billing experts for their takeaways and learned that these patients had the right idea.
“You know what? It pays to be stubborn in situations like this,” said Berneta Haynes, a senior attorney for the National Consumer Law Center who reviewed Holmes’ bill for KFF Health News.
From our curious, tireless “Bill of the Month” team, happy holidays — and, when in doubt, don’t pay the bill.
Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by KFF Health News and The Washington Post’s Well+Being that dissects and explains medical bills. Since 2018, this series has helped many patients and readers get their medical bills reduced, and it has been cited in statehouses, at the U.S. Capitol, and at the White House. Do you have a confusing or outrageous medical bill you want to share? Tell us about it!
