Listen: How Skimpy Insurance Led To A $21,634 Hospital Bill

Laura Ungar, a Kaiser Health News editor and correspondent, joined Illinois Public Media’s “The 21st” with host Christine Herman and Chicago-area patient Arline Feilen to discuss the challenges that arise when health plans don’t have adequate coverage. Ungar reported on the case of Feilen, who ended up with a $21,634 bill after a mental health crisis put her in the hospital for five nights. “It’s more than a year’s pay, let’s put it that way,” Feilen said.

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.

<h1>Listen: How Skimpy Insurance Led To A $21,634 Hospital Bill</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2019-11-08T05:00:46-05:00">
			November 8, 2019		</time>
		</div>
<p>Laura Ungar, a Kaiser Health News editor and correspondent, joined Illinois Public Media’s “The 21st” with host Christine Herman and Chicago-area patient Arline Feilen to discuss the challenges that arise when health plans don’t have adequate coverage. Ungar reported on the case of Feilen, who ended up with <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/grief-grew-into-a-mental-health-crisis-and-a-21634-hospital-bill/">a $21,634 bill</a> after a mental health crisis put her in the hospital for five nights. “It’s more than a year’s pay, let’s put it that way,” Feilen said.</p><ul><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-how-skimpy-insurance-led-to-a-21634-hospital-bill/?share=x">				Share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-how-skimpy-insurance-led-to-a-21634-hospital-bill/?share=facebook">				Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-how-skimpy-insurance-led-to-a-21634-hospital-bill/?share=linkedin">				Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Listen%3A%20How%20Skimpy%20Insurance%20Led%20To%20A%20%2421%2C634%20Hospital%20Bill&body=https%3A%2F%2Fkffhealthnews.org%2FMTAxNzU0Mg&share=email">				Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-how-skimpy-insurance-led-to-a-21634-hospital-bill/#print?share=print">				Print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-how-skimpy-insurance-led-to-a-21634-hospital-bill/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> 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 <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p><p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-how-skimpy-insurance-led-to-a-21634-hospital-bill/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org">KFF Health News</a> and is republished here under a <a target="_blank" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src="https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/kffhealthnews-icon.png?w=150" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"></p>
<img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://kffhealthnews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=1017542&amp;ga4=G-J74WWTKFM0" style="width:1px;height:1px;">

Some elements may be removed from this article due to republishing restrictions. If you have questions about available photos or other content, please contact NewsWeb@kff.org.

More From KFF Health News