Posted on Jan 9, 2023
A 'medical cost-sharing' plan left this minister to pay most of his $160,000 bill
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/01/09/ [login to see] /a-medical-cost-sharing-plan-left-this-minister-to-pay-most-of-his-160-000-bill
Kareen King calls it "the ultimate paradox": The hospital that saved her husband Jeff's heart also broke it.
What Happened Jeff King, of Lawrence, Kan., needed his heart rhythm restored to normal with a procedure called an ablation — sooner rather than later, his doctor said. Jeff asked the hospital for a cost estimate, but said he didn't hear back before his scheduled surgery in January 2021 at Stormont Vail Health in Topeka, Kan.
The real pain came when the bill arrived in the mail a few weeks later. The Kings, who were uninsured at the time, were on the hook for nearly all of the cost.
Kareen King calls it "the ultimate paradox": The hospital that saved her husband Jeff's heart also broke it.
What Happened Jeff King, of Lawrence, Kan., needed his heart rhythm restored to normal with a procedure called an ablation — sooner rather than later, his doctor said. Jeff asked the hospital for a cost estimate, but said he didn't hear back before his scheduled surgery in January 2021 at Stormont Vail Health in Topeka, Kan.
The real pain came when the bill arrived in the mail a few weeks later. The Kings, who were uninsured at the time, were on the hook for nearly all of the cost.
A 'medical cost-sharing' plan left this minister to pay most of his $160,000 bill
Posted from npr.org
Medical
Health
Insurance
Lawrence
Posted 2 y ago
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From article: "...the sharing plans offer fewer protections than insurance and come with provisos. The Kings said their plan did not fully cover preexisting conditions like Jeff's heart condition for the first two years of coverage — and he needed the surgery after 16 months."
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