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Hospital Prices Are Arbitrary. Just Look at the Kingsburys' $100,000 Bill.
How much will a medical procedure cost you? The answer varies a lot. Just look inside the Kingsburys' $100,000 in bills.
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HEALTH
Hospital Prices Are Arbitrary. Just Look at the Kingsburys’ $100,000 Bill.
Newly public data reveal how some patients end up paying more at hospitals—and how little control consumers have over the amounts, even with insurance
By Melanie Evans and Tom McGinty / Photographs by Rachel Mummey for The Wall Street Journal
https://twitter.com/_melaevans
melanie.evans@wsj.com
Tom.McGinty@wsj.com
Updated Oct. 28, 2021 3:21 pm ET
Barbara Kingsbury was diagnosed with cervical cancer two years ago and embarked on an aggressive course of treatment. The bills piled up on the kitchen counter of her home in Volin, S.D., at one point hitting $94,000 in unpaid fees and interest. With debt collectors threatening a lawsuit, her husband, Dennis Kingsbury, emptied her retirement savings in early May to pay most of the amount due.
Bill collectors continued calling Ms. Kingsbury when she entered hospice care in early June, her husband said. She died on June 10, at age 62. In July, Mr. Kinsgbury received another hospital bill for $10,000.
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Hospital Prices Are Arbitrary. Just Look at the Kingsburys’ $100,000 Bill.
Newly public data reveal how some patients end up paying more at hospitals—and how little control consumers have over the amounts, even with insurance
By Melanie Evans and Tom McGinty / Photographs by Rachel Mummey for The Wall Street Journal
https://twitter.com/_melaevans
melanie.evans@wsj.com
Tom.McGinty@wsj.com
Updated Oct. 28, 2021 3:21 pm ET
Barbara Kingsbury was diagnosed with cervical cancer two years ago and embarked on an aggressive course of treatment. The bills piled up on the kitchen counter of her home in Volin, S.D., at one point hitting $94,000 in unpaid fees and interest. With debt collectors threatening a lawsuit, her husband, Dennis Kingsbury, emptied her retirement savings in early May to pay most of the amount due.
Bill collectors continued calling Ms. Kingsbury when she entered hospice care in early June, her husband said. She died on June 10, at age 62. In July, Mr. Kinsgbury received another hospital bill for $10,000.
TO READ THE FULL STORY
SUBSCRIBE
SIGN IN