Bill Of The Month

Jerry Bilinski, a retired social worker who lives in Fayetteville, N.C., says he deserves a full explanation from his medical team of what led to a small gash on his forehead during his surgery for a cataract. Eamon Queeney for KHN hide caption

Paul Hinds has navigated the financial maze of health care during treatment for prostate cancer with the help of his girlfriend, Dr. Josie Tenore. Taylor Glascock/Taylor Glascock hide caption

After Frankie Cook's car accident on a wet road outside Rome, Ga., her father, Russell (right), got a lawyer's letter saying they owed a hospital emergency room more than $17,000 for scans and an exam to see if she had a concussion. Audra Melton for KHN hide caption

Dani Yuengling of Conway, South Carolina, knew she had to follow up after a mammogram found a lump. Her mom had died of breast cancer. But she had no idea how expensive the biopsy would be. Gavin McIntyre for KHN hide caption

After a car crash, Peggy Dula was billed $3,606 in ambulance fees by a taxpayer-funded municipal fire department. Bram Sable-Smith/KHN hide caption

Danilo Manimtim and his wife, Marilou, had identical cataract surgeries, but the charges were drastically different — even though the Fresno, California, couple were covered by the same health plan. Heidi de Marco/KHN hide caption

Preventive care should be free to patients under the Affordable Care Act, but Elizabeth Melville of Sunapee, NH., was charged $2,185 for a colonoscopy in 2021. Philip Keith/KHN hide caption

Claudia and Jesús Fierro of Yuma, Ariz., review their medical bills. They pay $1,000 a month for health insurance yet still owed more than $7,000 after two episodes of care at the local hospital. Lisa Hornak for Kaiser Health News hide caption

While Sean Deines and his wife, Rebekah, were traveling in Wyoming in 2020, Sean got very ill and was diagnosed with an aggressive leukemia. A huge air ambulance bill added to their stress. Maddy Alewine/Kaiser Health News hide caption

Sugar and Greg Bull play with their twins, Redford and Scarlett, who were born prematurely in 2020. Their insurance company initially said the births were not an emergency, and the family ended up with bills totaling more than $80,000. Heidi de Marco/Kaiser Health News hide caption

Dhaval Bhatt plays Monopoly with his children, Hridaya (left) and Martand, at their home in St. Peters, Missouri. Martand's mother took him to a children's hospital in April after he burned his hand, and the bill for the emergency room visit was more than $1,000 — even though the child was never seen by a doctor. Whitney Curtis for Kaiser Health News hide caption

Baby Dorian Bennett arrived two months early and needed neonatal intensive care. Despite having insurance, mom Bisi Bennett and her husband faced a bill of more than $550,000 and were offered an installment payment plan of $45,843 per month for 12 months. Zack Wittman for Kaiser Health News hide caption

Jason Dean received six stitches and a tetanus shot after he cut his knee in May. In August, his wife, DeeAnn, feared going to the same emergency room where he was treated, delaying her diagnosis of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Blake Farmer/WPLN News hide caption

When Caitlin Wells Salerno and Jon Salerno's first son, Hank, was born, his delivery cost the family only $30. Gus' bill came in at more than $16,000, all told — including the $2,755 ER charge. The family was responsible for about $3,600 of the total. Rae Ellen Bichell/KHN hide caption

Travis Warner of Dallas got tested for the coronavirus at a free-standing emergency room in June 2020 after one of his colleagues tested positive for the virus. The emergency room bill included a $54,000 charge for one test. Laura Buckman for KHN hide caption

Ely Bair had two medically necessary jaw surgeries. For the first, in 2018, his share of the bill was $3,000. For the second, in 2019 after a job change, he was billed $27,000, even though he had the same insurance carrier. Jovelle Tamayo for Kaiser Health News hide caption

Phil Gaimon knows accidents are part of his sport. He had retired from competitive road cycling three years earlier, but a recruiting call came in the spring of 2019 from a coach of the USA Cycling track team. Heidi de Marco/KHN hide caption