MEDICAL BILLING NEWS

Keep abreast of news and information on medical billing and its impact on patients and consumers.

'No one should have to go through this': NJ nurse wants new law after $6K ambulance bill

A New Jersey resident says something needs to be done about expensive ambulance rides, after her son received a costly bill for transportation between hospitals.

- NorthJersey.com

Avail patients get outrageous bills months after hospital shuts down

Lots of questions remain unanswered after people are receiving bills from the recently closed Avail Hospital in Lake Charles.

Multiple patients of the former hospital are saying they got a bill in the mail for an amount they do not owe months after their last visit.

- KPLC

No Surprises Act prevented 10M surprise bills in first nine months of 2023, insurer groups say

AHIP and BCBSA also took aim at providers for allegedly abusing the billing dispute resolution process set up by No Surprises in the latest salvo over the polarizing law.

- Healthcare Dive

The Colonoscopies Were Free. But the ‘Surgical Trays’ Came With $600 Price Tags.

Chantal Panozzo and her husband, who live in the Chicago suburbs, expected their first routine colonoscopies would be free — fully covered by insurance as preventive care under federal law. Then they were billed hundreds of dollars for what was described to them as “surgical trays.”

- KFF Health News

Paying more for the same procedure? It could be the facility fee

Facility fees drive up health care costs, said Cheryl DeMars, CEO of The Alliance, a Madison-based group of 340 employers that purchase medical services together. The fees are sometimes covered by insurance but often leave patients, especially those with high-deductible plans, paying out of pocket, DeMars said.

- Wisconsin State Journal

Odd bedfellows Mike Braun and Bernie Sanders team up to support health price transparency

U.S. Sens. Mike Braun (R-Indiana) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) are coming out with their latest shared issue: stricter price transparency standards in health care.

- Daily Journal

Healthcare Consumers Want Hospital Price Transparency, Survey Finds

A third of healthcare consumers believe Congress should prioritize hospital price transparency.

- RevCycle Intelligence

The US Senate can clarify hospital prices

- PIRG

St. Luke’s merger with a St. Louis hospital system could mean bigger medical bills in Kansas City

Hospitals see getting bigger as a way to survive in an industry dominated by large, national insurance companies. But economists point to trends that mergers often lead to higher prices and less access for some patients

- Kansas City Beacon

Valley couple has $42K medical bill cleared

Mayo Clinic doctors reevaluated the bill after 12News began asking questions.

- KPNX-TV

My surreal medical bill of, technically, $95,487

How much does a two-night hospital stay in Washington really cost?

- Seattle Times

'It's a broken process': A small, unrelated diagnosis code almost left a Valley couple paying a $42,000 medical bill

Donna Lewis had surgery to repair a hernia related to her liver transplant almost two years ago. An unrelated diagnosis code nearly left her footing a $42,000 bill.

- 12 News (Phoenix)

New Jersey governor wants medical debt relief package

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has made medical debt relief a top priority in the coming year.

- Chief Healthcare Executive

Billing for patient messages to clinicians is increasing, study finds

An upturn in the number of providers charging for messages suggests organizations now see e-visits as a long-term source of potential revenue, researchers said.

- Healthcare Dive

Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

People with health insurance may now represent the majority of debtors American hospitals struggle to collect from, according to medical billing analysts.

- The Guardian

One third of hospitals take legal action against patients with outstanding medical bills, study finds

- Lown Institute

News ambulance billing investigation prompts results and new calls for change

A Crown Point family got their $9,000 bill for their daughter's ambulance ride greatly reduced after a 13 Investigates story.

- WTHR

It's Just Too Much': Why Many Insured Californians Avoid Hospitals in This County

Monterey County hospitals are among the most expensive in the state

- KQED

Medical Billing Quality Lacking According to Leapfrog Measures

Most hospitals don’t meet new medical billing measures added to the Leapfrog Group’s 2022 survey, a recent study shows.

- RevCycle Intelligence

Hochul proposes law to stop hospitals like Upstate from suing poor patients over unpaid bills

Gov. Kathy Hochul today proposed limiting the ability of hospitals such as Upstate University Hospital to sue people with limited incomes over unpaid medical bills.

- Syracuse.com

‘We were trusting them’: Family battling newborn’s $60K medical helicopter bill

A Colorado family found themselves in an expensive dilemma with a medical helicopter company. After taking hospital workers’ advice to put their newborn on a medical helicopter, they now are battling a $60,000 bill — and wondering why the flight was necessary in the first place.

- Fox 31 Denver

Surprise ambulance bills put these families in debt. A new California law bans the practice

Surprise ambulance bills can leave families deeply in debt after a medical emergency. A new state law that forces insurance companies to negotiate payments is expected to save Californians tens of millions of dollars a year.

- Cal Matterrs

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

Check out 2023’s stories below to learn more about how you can protect yourself and your loved ones from a big, unexpected, or downright wrong bill.

- KFF Health News