It's Scarily Easy To Get A Surprise Medical Bill, Even When You're Insured

WASHINGTON -- The American health care system is confounding under the best of circumstances. But frustration can reach a boiling point when a patient thinks she's followed all the rules and still gets hit with a huge surprise bill. That's what happened to Lisa Bettendorf in 2012. She had to pay almost $10,000 even though she said the doctors told her their treatment would be covered. Bettendorf injured herself in a fall caused by fainting. "I had a fricking hole in my face that I could stick my tongue through," she said. So she visited the emergency department at a nearby hospital that was in her insurance plan's network. "I was very aware that you had to be in-network and you had to ask the right questions when you were getting medical care," said Bettendorf, who lives outside San Francisco. When she arrived at the emergency room, a physician informed her that the hospital's regular plastic surgeon wasn't available, but that a doctor from another hospital would come perform her surgery. As it happens, this wasn't the first time that confusion over her insurance network had led to extra costs, so Bettendorf expressed concern to the visiting physician that his services wouldn't be covered by her policy. "He said, and the ER doctor agreed and the nurse nodded her head, 'It doesn't matter. You're in an in-network ER, and it does not matter that I am not in-network. You have come to an emergency room, you need emergency treatment on your face, they couldn't get the first do...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news