“Nearly half of Americans with health insurance said they received a recent medical bill or a charge that ‘should have been free or covered by their insurance,’ according to a survey released Thursday,” Ken Alltucker writes over at USA Today. “The survey, from the Commonwealth Fund in New York City, found 45% of working-age consumers last year were erroneously billed, however, fewer than half of those patients challenged their health insurance company or a medical provider about the unexpected charges. More than 1 in 3 consumers who contested surprise medical bills said the extra work paid off and the costs were reduced or eliminated. Officials at the Commonwealth Fund said the survey underscores a fundamental problem in the health care system. People expect their health insurance plan to provide access to timely medical care and protection from financial harm, but, instead, they frequently face unexpected medical bills or are denied care. Sara Collins, Commonwealth’s vice president for health care coverage and access, said the survey documents the reality many Americans are experiencing. Consumers often don’t know what their insurance plans will cover or which services provided by their doctors or other providers will show up on their bills. The lack of transparency from officials overseeing insurance coverage and medical bills confuses patients and saps their confidence that they’ll get the care they need.” Ken Alltucker, “Nearly half of insured Americans get surprise expenses in medical bills, survey finds,” USA Today.
