Research recently released by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds nearly 7 in 10 (67 percent) American consumers are worried about opening their mailbox to find an excessive and unexpected medical bill. That from a survey conducted in 2018.
And apparently we have good reason to be worried. Here’s a breakdown of actual surprise billing incidents pulled from 2017 data:
- Four in 10 (39 percent) of elderly, insured adults said they’d received an unexpected bill from a medical provider in 2017.
- One in six Americans were surprised by a medical bill following treatment at a hospital in 2017.
- There was a higher likelihood that patients admitted to the hospital after treatment in the emergency room were subject to out-of-network charges, even when they sought care at a hospital within their insurance plan’s network. As many as 26 percent admissions from the ER resulted in a surprise medical bill.
More than 1,000 consumers have already signed the Voices for Affordable Health petition urging Congress to make sure Americans are protected from excessive and unexpected medical bills. If you haven’t signed yet, please use this link to sign today. Together we can make a difference!