medical bills

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Cops: Man Confesses to Killing Wife Over Medical Bills

It was Ronnie Wiggs' third attempt at murder, police say

(Newser) - A man charged with murder in Missouri has allegedly confessed to killing his wife on his third attempt, saying he could no longer afford to pay her medical bills. The unidentified 72-year-old woman was found without a pulse Friday in her hospital bed at Centerpoint Medical Center in the Kansas...

Dying Woman Wipes Out Medical Debt of Others

Casey McIntyre wrote a plea to be posted after her death

(Newser) - "If you're reading this I have passed away," Casey McIntyre asked to have posted to social media when the time came. The note went up Monday on Instagram . In it, McIntyre wrote, "I've arranged to buy up others' medical debt and then destroy the debt"...

Toledo Plans to Use $1.6M to Wipe Out $240M in Medical Debt

Ohio city is working with nonprofit that buys old debts from hospitals

(Newser) - "Washington might not have a plan for medical debt relief, but Toledo, Ohio, does," says Dr. Michele Grim, a city council member who led an effort to forgive up to $240 million in medical debt—for a lot less than $240 million. The council has passed a measure...

Car Accident Reveals an Odd Insurance Reality

Urgent care medical facilities often don't treat victims from auto crashes

(Newser) - If you visit an urgent care facility rather than a regular emergency room after a car accident, don't be surprised if they refuse service. That's the upshot of the latest "bill of the month" feature from NPR , which puts a focus on medical bills. In this case,...

Washington Man's COVID Bill Was Seven Figures

Though he says he only had to pay about $3K of that

(Newser) - One of the first COVID-19 patients in the US, Michael Flor of Seattle spent 62 days in the hospital and two weeks in a rehab facility—then returned home to a $1.1 million medical bill. There were thousands of charges on the 181-page bill, he tells KOMO News . An...

Can't Pay for Surgery? This Doctor Has a Creative Solution

Demetrio Aguila lets eligible patients put in volunteer hours for operations

(Newser) - "Who are my heroes? Who are the people I look at and say, 'That's who I want to be'?" For Demetrio Aguila, a Nebraska surgeon specializing in nerve pain, the answer to his own question is his father, also a physician—and one who loved helping...

She Had a Routine Throat Swab. The Bill Was $28K
She Had a Routine Throat
Swab. The Bill Was $28K
in case you missed it

She Had a Routine Throat Swab. The Bill Was $28K

NPR looks at a particularly outrageous medical bill of a Brooklyn woman

(Newser) - NPR puts the focus on crazy medical bills in its "Bill of the Month" feature, and the latest is a doozy. A Brooklyn woman felt a cold coming on ahead of her vacation and went to the doctor to make sure it wasn't strep. She had a...

A $15K Donation Just Wiped Out $1.8M in Medical Debt

A Michigan church reaches out to help 1.9K families in its area

(Newser) - A single congregation has paid the medical debts of 1,899 Michigan families living at or below the poverty line, who will learn the good news this week. The medical debts owed by the West Michigan families across four counties "has been paid in full as a result of...

Suspect Billed $4K When Cops Make Hospital Search Rectum
Doctors Find No Drugs in
Suspect's Rectum, Bill Him $4K
in case you missed it

Doctors Find No Drugs in Suspect's Rectum, Bill Him $4K

Syracuse newspaper details strange case

(Newser) - In the annals of surprising medical bills, this one stands out. A man in Syracuse received a bill for $4,595.12 after doctors performed a sigmoidoscopy, meaning they inserted an 8-inch scope into his rectum, reports the Syracuse Post-Standard . They did so against his will, on the orders of...

2 Women Wiped Out $1.5M in Medical Debt Using $12K

They helped almost 1.3K people in New York

(Newser) - Some 1,284 people in New York state are getting some good news this holiday season—courtesy of two complete strangers. Ithaca residents Judith Jones, 80, and Carolyn Kenyon, 70, raised $12,500 over the summer and gave it to the RIP Medical Debt charity, which used it to forgive...

Your New Hospital Nightmare: the 'Trauma Fee'

It can add $10K or more to the bill, even for minor injuries

(Newser) - Vox takes a deep dive into the scary world of medical bills and focuses on one relatively new component that can result in mind-boggling bills: the "trauma fee." Hospitals began charging these fees in 2002, and they're supposed to work like so: A medic in the...

Miscarriages' Hidden Truth: They're Expensive
Miscarriages' Hidden Truth: They're Expensive
OPINION

Miscarriages' Hidden Truth: They're Expensive

Slate blogger writes that the financial toll is often overlooked

(Newser) - About a quarter of pregnancies will end in miscarriage, and we as a society are pretty good about helping women cope with the emotional pain involved, writes Jessica Grose at Slate . But one thing rarely talked about is the financial toll. An uninsured woman can expect to pay between $4,...

Medical Debt Gets a Break in Credit-Report Overhaul

Big 3 agencies agree to revamp system to better address errors, medical bills

(Newser) - Good news for consumers who've had to play the waiting game to pay off medical debt: The three largest credit-reporting agencies in the US are working together to overhaul their systems to take better care of customer issues and the way medical debt is handled, Reuters reports. In a...

Cost of Desert Sex: Priceless—Er, $250K

 Man's Desert Sex 
 Costs Him $250K 
in case you missed it

Man's Desert Sex Costs Him $250K

Peter Cousins racks up an impressive medical bill after heart attack

(Newser) - A British couple's decision to make love at a Nevada hot spring has resulted in a $250,000 medical bill. Peter Cousins and Dawn Reed, who were traveling around the world, decided to have sex at the spot, which was 60 miles from the nearest phone signal—and it...

Couple Trapped in US Escapes $200K Bill After Early Birth

Brits Kate Amos and Lee Johnston were told they couldn't leave for months

(Newser) - When a British couple vacationing in New York had a baby 11 weeks earlier than expected, they were told they couldn't go home until March because the baby wasn't ready to fly—and that meant a $200,000 medical bill. Good news for Kate Amos and Lee Johnston:...

Why Medical Patients Get Huge Surprise Bills

Out-of-network providers work on patients without their knowing it

(Newser) - Peter Drier's neck surgery bills didn't surprise him, even $133,000 from the anesthesiologist and $56,000 from his Manhattan hospital. But what was $117,000 from an "assistant surgeon"? Drier, a bank technology manager, had run into a growing US phenomenon known as "drive-by...

Man Goes to ER for Snakebite, Gets Billed $89K

Eric Ferguson was in North Carolina hospital for 18 hours

(Newser) - When a North Carolina man was bitten by a snake in August, he was successfully treated over 18 hours at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center—for which he was billed $89,227, the Charlotte Observer reports. Some $81,000 of that was for four vials of anti-venom, which Eric Ferguson...

Owner Selling Restaurant to Help Ailing Teen Worker

Brittany Mathis has tumor, no insurance

(Newser) - A Texas man is selling the restaurant he's owned for 17 years—which he figures is worth some $2 million—to help a 19-year-old employee handle her mounting medical bills. "I'm not able to just sit by and let it happen. I couldn't live with myself,...

Royal Birth Cost Less Than Most American Births
Royal Birth Cost Less Than Most American Births
OPINION

Royal Birth Cost Less Than Most American Births

And Kate got better care: Sy Mukherjee

(Newser) - Rolling your eyes at all the pomp and fuss surrounding the newest prince in Britain? Well, dear American, allow New York Times reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal to temper the condescension with one eye-opening tweet : “British royal born in fanciest ward: $15000. Average US birth: billed $30,000; paid $18,000....

Inside the Most Expensive Hospital in America

How a New Jersey hospital went from bankruptcy to big bills

(Newser) - Bayonne, New Jersey, is not a place you want to get sick. The New York Times has combed through Medicare data released by the government this month, and found Bayonne Medical Center charges the highest prices in the country for almost a quarter of the most common hospital treatments. For...

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