Emergency Room Charges Legal News Articles & Interviews

Washington, DC Dr. Joaquin Lopez ‘s surprise emergency room bill came after he and his insurer had already paid $11,000 toward the cost of emergency gallbladder surgery. For dentist Brad Buckingham, who fell off his bicycle, the shock was a $70,000 bill to repair a broken hip. For Stacey Shapiro, it was a $6,720 emergency room fee to treat sudden spell of low blood sugar.

Scottsdale, AZ: Emergency room care in the US is the highest-priced care a patient can receive. Even a minor condition can set you back thousands of dollars, which in itself can cause health issues—financial problems are stressful. It can get worse: one patient dinged with outrageous emergency room overcharges later discovered that another patient with similar treatment paid a lot less.

Los Angeles, CA: When a nine-year old accidentally had gasoline splashed in her eyes, her mother immediately drove her to the closest hospital emergency room. They were directed to the eyewash station but it was so dirty they couldn’t use it, so Brianna’s mom rinsed her daughter’s eyes at a regular sink. Turns out, they would have been better off using the gas station’s eyewash, which was free. The ER sink cost $1,400: the hospital charged $600 and the ER doctor fee was $800 (for walking into the room, saying Brianna needed an eyewash station and walking out). Upcoding has become common practice, resulting in emergency room overcharges and increased health costs for everyone.

Grand Rapids, MI:Judy Burton did what most people do when they begin suffering unexplained pains while at home on a Saturday evening: she proceeded to the nearest emergency room to get checked out. The Michigan resident told FOX 17 News (11/17/17) that she wound up not requiring treatment after her pains subsided and after about an hour simply left the waiting room and went home. Imagine her surprise when she received a bill about 2 weeks later for over $1,000 in emergency room charges.

Tampa, FL: Attorney Ben Stewart is seeing an increase in hospital overcharging, mostly to uninsured people. "Look carefully at your medical bills. If you have been overcharged and have either started a payment schedule or completed payment, you may be entitled to monetary damages," says Stewart.

Washington, DC Since 2009 emergency room charges have jumped by as much as 85 percent. Are patients really sicker? Has the actual cost of care gone up that much? Are hospitals price-gouging? For both uninsured patients and those with big deductibles, the bottom line is the same – a gaping hole in the pocketbook.

Los Angeles, CA: There is an increasing amount of evidence to show that charges for emergency room treatment in American hospitals varies, and varies widely. One hospital might charge $1,000 for a particular test or treatment while another hospital might charge $12,000 for the exact same services.

Washington, DC: A study into medical bills, treatment costs at hospitals and emergency room charges undertaken last year and published in May by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine confirmed what we already know: charges for medical care can be excessive when compared to what Medicare and Medicaid interprets as the true value for services.

Boston, MA: Regardless of the machinations undertaken by the Trump Administration to replace the so-called ‘Obama Care’ with something that may, or may not be superior the fact remains that health care costs continue to balloon, with hospital billings and emergency room charges chronically higher than rates set by Medicare. With such hospital overcharging going on, it’s little wonder patients seek justice with an ER bill lawsuit, or similar.

Lowell, MI: The last thing a person needs at this time of year are disputable emergency room charges over and above the Christmas bills that will soon be rolling in from the holidays. Advocates suggest that all too often ER bills are inaccurate, too high and are almost impossible to resolve without the help of a professional.