Paul Raeburn

Code Blue: Out-of-Network Charges Can Spur Financial Emergency

By Paul Raeburn KFF Health News Original

When Gary Diego’s wife, Ellen, had bleeding in her brain, she ended up in an out-of-network emergency room. And he ended up with a huge bill. In a practice known as balance billing, insurers pay a portion of the out-of-network charges, and the rest is dumped on patients.