Your health insurance should work when you need it. But we’re hearing that Washington residents with good insurance are still getting hit with thousands of dollars in surprise medical bills!
A gaping loophole in Washington state law allows doctors and hospitals to hit you with these surprise bills. We can close this loophole, but we need a simple thing from you:
If you have been hit with a surprise medical bill -- a charge you thought your insurance should have covered -- tell us about it now. We expect Washington lawmakers will take up legislation soon that could protect you from these medical bills, but your story is needed to get the new law passed!
If you got a surprise medical bill from a Washington doctor or hospital, please tell us about it here!
Right now, there is no guarantee in Washington law that an ‘in-network’ hospital on your insurance will use in-network doctors and labs. That means you could get stuck paying for ‘out-of-network’ care from providers who you rightly thought were covered.
This loophole can leave you in a financial bind. Just like Dan Jacobs of Vancouver, Washington. Dan went to an emergency room in his insurance plan's network because he thought he might be having a heart attack. It was a quick visit—the doctor checked him out, assured him that he was fine, and sent him on his way.
But the doctor who attended to him was a contractor, not an employee of the hospital, so he was hit with a surprise bill.
“No one should have to be surprised by a magic medical bill that appears out of nowhere by a doctor that doesn't even work at the facility,” Dan says. “Even though I feel like I have a handle on my life, a little $400 bill could knock me on my butt for a minute.”
Washington lawmakers can close this loophole so any care you receive at an in-network hospital will be covered. But unless lawmakers know this is a real problem for constituents, they could be convinced by the powerful medical establishment not to fix it.
If you’ve had a surprise medical bill in Washington, tell us your story. It could make the difference!
If you don’t have a personal experience with a surprise medical bill, maybe a friend or family member does? If so, forward this to them so they can get involved in the fight to end surprise medical bills in Washington once and for all.
Thanks again!
Daniela Nunez, Consumers Union
https://consumersunion.org/share-your-surprise-medical-bill-story/
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