Bill Of The Month

Hofstra University student Divya Singh found herself beset by a double whammy of bills from two of the costliest kinds of institutions in America — colleges and hospitals. After experiencing anxiety when her family had trouble coming up with the money for her tuition, she sought counseling and ended up with a weeklong stay in a psychiatric hospital — and a resulting $3,413 bill. Jackie Molloy for KHN hide caption

Mikkel and Kayla Kjelshus' daughter, Charlie, had a complication during delivery that caused her oxygen levels to drop and put her at risk for brain damage. Charlie needed seven days of neonatal intensive care, which resulted in a huge bill — $207,455 for the NICU alone — and confusion over which parent's insurer would cover the little girl's health costs. Christopher Smith for KHN hide caption

Adam Woodrum and his son, Robert, get ready for a bike ride near their home in Carson City, Nev., this month. During the summer, Robert had a bike accident that resulted in a hefty bill from the family's insurer. Maggie Starbard for KHN hide caption

When Tiffany Qiu found herself on the hook for her usual 30% Blue Shield of California coinsurance after the hospital quoted 20%, she pushed back. Shelby Knowles for KHN hide caption

Matthew Fentress was diagnosed with heart disease that developed after a bout of the flu in 2014. His condition worsened three years later, and he had to declare bankruptcy when he couldn't afford his medical bills, despite having insurance. Meg Vogel for KHN hide caption

"Before the appendectomy, I was looking for property and homes to purchase, and that is pretty much completely off the table right now," says Shannon Harness, a veteran who was uninsured when he had two appendicitis-related surgeries in 2019. The bills amounted to $80,232. Rachel Woolf for KHN hide caption

Izzy Benasso injured her knee while playing tennis with her father Steve Benasso in Denver. After the college student had knee surgery to repair the injury, her dad noticed her medical bills included a separate one from a surgical assistant for $1,167. Rachel Woolf for KHN hide caption

Insurers must cover coronavirus testing, according to federal law, but medical visits to discuss symptoms may not be covered, unless a test is ordered at that time. ER Productions Limited/Getty Images hide caption

With physician offices not seeing patients with COVID-19 symptoms in April, Timothy Regan said he had little choice when Denver Health directed him first to its urgent care facility and then to its emergency room. "I felt bad, but I had been dealing with it for a while," he says. Ethan Welty for KHN hide caption

Anna Davis Abel, a graduate student studying creative writing at West Virginia University, couldn't get tested for COVID-19 until her doctor ruled out other possible illnesses. Rebecca Kiger for KHN hide caption

A drug implant was prescribed for an active 8-year-old girl diagnosed with central precocious puberty. The price of one option was thousands of dollars less than the other. Kristina Barker for KHN hide caption

Joshua Bates, a technical recruiter for a staffing firm, who lives in Charlotte, N.C., was "balance billed" by an out-of-network hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Logan Cyrus for KHN hide caption

When Alexa Kasdan's sore throat lingered for more than a week, she went to her doctor. The doctor sent her throat swab and blood draw to an out-of-network lab for sophisticated DNA tests, resulting in a $28,395.50 bill. Shelby Knowles for Kaiser Health News hide caption

Lucy Branson, now 4, holds Polly Pocket shoes like the ones she put in her nose. Heidi de Marco/KHN hide caption

Arline Feilen (left) and her sister, Kathy McCoy, at their mother's home in the Chicago suburbs. The biggest chunk of Feilen's bill was $16,480 for four nights in a room shared with another patient. McCoy joked that it would have been cheaper to stay at the Ritz-Carlton. Alyssa Schukar for KHN hide caption

An unexpected charge related to a biopsy threatened the financial security of Brianna Snitchler and her partner. Callie Richmond for Kaiser Health News hide caption

Before scheduling his hernia surgery, Wolfgang Balzer called the hospital, the surgeon and the anesthesiologist to get estimates for how much the procedure would cost. But when his bill came, the estimates he had obtained were wildly off. John Woike for Kaiser Health News hide caption

Sovereign Valentine and his wife, Jessica, wait as a dialysis machine filters his blood. Before finding a dialysis clinic in their insurance network, the Valentines were charged more than a half-million dollars for 14 weeks of treatment. Tommy Martino/Kaiser Health News hide caption

Liv Cannon and her fiancé, Cole Chiumento, considered calling off their wedding because of uncertainty over medical debt from her surgery. "I think about it every time I go to the mailbox," Cannon says. Julia Robinson for Kaiser Health News hide caption