Four in 10 privately insured patients faced surprise medical bills after visiting emergency rooms or getting admitted to hospitals in 2016, according to a new study published Monday in the American Medical Association’s internal medicine journal.
The average price tag for a surprise bill related to care at an emergency department was $628 in 2016, up from $220 in 2010, according to the study. The average surprise bill for inpatient admissions increased from $804 in 2010 to $2,040 in 2016.
Patients can face surprise bills when they visit an emergency room covered by their insurance, but are treated by doctors who are not. Out-of-network doctors can bill patients for what insurance doesn’t cover, resulting in a surprise bill.
Read more at The Hill.
{Matzav.com}