“It was 2 in the morning when Annette Alexander rushed her daughter Cherie to Abington-Lansdale Hospital with throbbing head pain,” Sarah Gantz writes over at partner philly.com. “The 24-year-old’s two-hour visit for what turned out to be a migraine headache led to a bill of $1,642. But in her haste, Alexander had left the family’s new insurance card at home. The Montgomery County hospital discounted the bill under its uninsured patient program, to $821. Realizing the error, Alexander called the hospital to provide the insurance information and soon got a new bill. The $1,642 charge had again been reduced, but this time to the insurer’s negotiated rate: $1,214.” Sarah Gantz, “How having health insurance spiked her hospital bill by $400,” Philly.com.
Jeanne Pinder
Jeanne Pinder is the founder and CEO of ClearHealthCosts. She worked at The New York Times for almost 25 years as a reporter, editor and human resources executive, then volunteered for a buyout and founded... More by Jeanne Pinder