Patient: Joshua Bates, a technical recruiter for a staffing firm, who lives in Charlotte, N.C. The Continental Benefits insurance plan comes with a deductible of $2,000 and an annual out-of-pocket maximum of $6,350.
Total bill: $41,212 covering the surgery, one night at the hospital and the emergency room charges. After payments by both Bates and his insurer, the hospital sent Bates a bill for the balance, just over $28,000.
Service provider: Carolinas Medical Center, owned by Atrium Health, a for-profit health system based in Charlotte.
What gives: Bates was “balance billed” because he went to an out-of-network hospital — and even though it was an emergency, he fell through the limited protections in existing law.