Latest News On Surprise Bills

Latest KFF Health News Stories

This Open Enrollment Season, Look Out for Health Insurance That Seems Too Good to Be True

KFF Health News Original

Complaints about misleading health insurance marketing are soaring. State insurance commissioners are taking notice. They’ve created a shared internal database to monitor questionable business practices, and, in the future, they hope to provide a public-facing resource for consumers. In the meantime, consumers should shop wisely as open enrollment season begins.

A Billing Expert Saved Big After Finding an Incorrect Charge in Her Husband’s ER Bill

KFF Health News Original

A medical billing specialist investigated her husband’s ER bill. Her sleuthing took over a year but knocked thousands of dollars off the hospital’s charges — and provides a playbook for other consumers.

Turned Away From Urgent Care — And Toward a Big ER Bill

KFF Health News Original

Russell Cook was expecting a quick and inexpensive visit to an urgent care center for his daughter, Frankie, after she had a car wreck. Instead, they were advised to go to an emergency room and got a much larger bill.

Watch: How Nursing Homes Put Friends and Families on the Hook for Residents’ Debts

KFF Health News Original

In pursuit of unpaid bills, nursing homes across Rochester, New York, have been suing relatives and friends of their residents. This CBS News report, done in partnership with a KHN-NPR investigation, takes a look at the practice and tells the stories of some of the people affected.

‘So Rudderless’: A Couple’s Quest for Autism Treatment for Their Son Hits Repeated Obstacles

KFF Health News Original

Amparo and Victor Rios began searching for answers about their son’s development when he didn’t hit some milestones after turning 2. Three years later, they are still trying to get their insurance to pay for expensive therapy to help him.

Betting on ‘Golden Age’ of Colonoscopies, Private Equity Invests in Gastro Docs

KFF Health News Original

An aging population in need of regular cancer screenings has driven private equity companies, seeking profits, to invest in many gastroenterology practices and set up aggressive billing practices. Steep prices on routine tests are one consequence for patients.

The Case of the $489,000 Air Ambulance Ride

KFF Health News Original

Diagnosed with aggressive leukemia on a Western trip, a young man thought his insurance would cover an air ambulance ride home to North Carolina. Instead, questions about medical necessity left him with an astronomical bill.

How to Avoid Surprise Bills — And the Pitfalls in the New Law

KFF Health News Original

The No Surprises Act offers protection from many surprise medical bills — but that protection may be only as good as a patient’s knowledge of the law and ability to make sure it’s enforced. Here’s what you need to know.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Congress Shelves Covid Funding for Now

KFF Health News Original

The Biden administration’s request for billions more in funding to fight covid-19 hit a snag on Capitol Hill this week, as Democrats objected to Republican demands that money allocated to states but not yet spent be reclaimed. Meanwhile, the big annual spending bill about to cross the finish line addresses other health policy changes, such as giving the FDA authority to regulate “synthetic” nicotine. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Jessie Hellmann of Modern Healthcare join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

An $80,000 Tab for Newborns Lays Out a Loophole in the New Law to Curb Surprise Bills

KFF Health News Original

The insurance company said that the birth of the Bull family’s twins was not an emergency and that NICU care was “not medically necessary.” The family’s experience with a huge bill sent to collections happened in 2020, but it exposes a hole in the new No Surprises law that took effect Jan. 1.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: Know Your ‘No Surprises’ Rights

KFF Health News Original

The No Surprises Act protects patients from surprise out-of-network bills. But there are caveats. For instance, these protections apply only to care in a hospital. This episode breaks it all down.