Surprise Bills Archives - Page 2 of 8

Cutting Medicaid Is Hard — Even for the GOP

Episode 396

May 8, 2025

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 — 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.’s, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.

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An adult with short brown hair, wearing a black T-shirt, stands in front of a stoop and is directly facing the camera.

Bill of the Month

The Patient Expected a Free Checkup. The Bill Was $1,430.

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.

By Samantha Liss and Lauren Sausser

April 30, 2025

A digital illustration of a woman on a red cell phone with a red chain hovering around her. Blue speech bubbles spread out with a liquid heaviness around her. She has a pained expression.

A Call for Comfort Brought the Police Instead. Now the Solution Is in Danger.

Emotionally overwhelmed, an Indiana woman dialed a mental health hotline. She didn’t 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.

By Samantha Liss

April 16, 2025

A photo of Kathy Hochul speaking at a podium with the USA and New York flags behind her.

In New York, Providers Must Put Patient Costs on the Table

The governor’s 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’t go far enough.

By Michelle Andrews

March 20, 2025

A photo of President Trump at the White House speaking into a microphone, pointing with his hand.

Trump Vowed To End Surprise Medical Bills. The Office Working on That Just Got Slashed.

The Trump administration’s first round of sweeping staff cuts to federal agencies eliminated dozens of positions at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, which is tasked with implementing the No Surprises Act.

By Noam N. Levey

March 4, 2025

A photo of a young man posing for a portrait outside. A white car drives up the street behind him.

Bill of the Month

A Runner Was Hit by a Car, Then by a Surprise Ambulance Bill

A San Francisco man had friends drive him to the hospital after he was hit by a car. Doctors checked him out, then sent him by ambulance to a trauma center — which released him with no further treatment. The ambulance bill? Almost $13,000.

By Sandy West

Feb. 28, 2025

A portrait of a middle-aged woman standing in a grassy field with mountains in the background on a sunny day.

Native American Patients Are Sent to Collections for Debts the Government Owes

Federal law says Native Americans aren’t liable for medical bills the Indian Health Service promises to pay. Some are billed anyway as a result of backlogs or mistakes from the agency, financial middlemen, or health systems.

By Katheryn Houghton and Arielle Zionts

Dec. 16, 2024

A close up photo of a doctor's hands putting on blue sterilized surgical gloves in a medical setting.

Perspective

Removing a Splinter? Treating a Wart? If a Doctor Does It, It Can Be Billed as Surgery

Minor interventions are increasingly being rebranded and billed as surgery, for profit. This means a neurologist spending 40 minutes with a patient to tease out a diagnosis can be paid less for that time than a dermatologist spending a few seconds squirting a dollop of liquid nitrogen onto the skin.

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

Dec. 13, 2024

A woman in a pink shirt walks away from the camera while holding a young boy on her right him. The boy looks behind her at the camera.

Bill of the Month

Toddler’s Backyard Snakebite Bills Totaled More Than a Quarter Million Dollars

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.

By Jackie Fortiér

Oct. 30, 2024

An Arm and a Leg

Don’t Get ‘Bullied’ Into Paying What You Don’t Owe

Season 12, Episode 3

Aug. 27, 2024

In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with Caitlyn Mai, a woman in Oklahoma who received a six-figure bill for a surgery her insurance promised to cover. This episode is an extended version of the “Bill of the Month” series, produced in partnership with NPR.

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Harris-Walz Ticket Sharpens Contrast With Trump-Vance on Health Care

As Democrats convene in Chicago to make official their presidential and vice presidential nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz together are raising the prominence of health care as a 2024 election issue.

By Stephanie Armour

Aug. 19, 2024

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Broach Topics From Treating Shooting Victims to Sunscreen Safety

KFF Health News and California Healthline staffers made the rounds on national and local media in the last couple of weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

May 18, 2024

An Arm and a Leg

Digging Into Facility Fees

Season 11, Episode 6

May 15, 2024

“An Arm and a Leg” is looking for listener stories about facility fees for a new project.

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What the Health? From KFF Health News

The Supreme Court and the Abortion Pill

Episode 340

March 28, 2024

The Supreme Court this week heard its first abortion case since overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, about an appeals court ruling that would dramatically restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. But while it seems likely that this case could be dismissed on a technicality, abortion opponents have more challenges in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health issues are heating up on the campaign trail, as Republicans continue to take aim at Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act — all things Democrats are delighted to defend. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who wrote a KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about Medicare and a very expensive air-ambulance ride. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

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A close-up of a pharmacist scanning a prescription.

When Copay Assistance Backfires on Patients

Drugmakers offer copay assistance programs to patients, but insurers are tapping into those funds, not counting the amounts toward patient deductibles. That leads to unexpected charges. But the practice is under growing scrutiny.

By Julie Appleby

March 15, 2024

The Health 202

The No Surprises Act Comes With Some Surprises

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

Feb. 14, 2024

The image is divided into twelve boxes and each box pictures a different person.

In Year 6, KFF Health News-NPR’s ‘Bill of the Month’ Helps Patients in a Changing System

In the sixth year of the KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” series, patients shared more than 750 tales of medical billing problems, and reporters analyzed more than $730,000 in charges — including more than $215,000 owed by 12 patients and their families.

Dec. 23, 2023

A portrait of a woman outside her apartment.

Bill Of The Month

When a Quick Telehealth Visit Yields Multiple Surprises Beyond a Big Bill

For the patient, it was a quick and inexpensive virtual appointment. Why it cost 10 times what she expected became a mystery.

By Darius Tahir

Dec. 19, 2023

Three ambulances are lined up outside of an emergency room of a children's hospital in Orange, CA.

Asking Never Hurts

New California Law Offers Fresh Protection From Steep Ambulance Bills

The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, prohibits out-of-network ground ambulance operators from billing patients more than they would pay for in-network rides. It also caps how much the uninsured must pay.

By Bernard J. Wolfson

Nov. 7, 2023