bill of the month

A cook at a senior center, Matthew Fentress is one of millions of Americans whose skimpy health insurance plans leave them vulnerable to huge out-of-pocket costs when they get sick.

An uninsured Colorado man who had appendicitis owed $80,232 after two surgeries. After months of negotiating with the hospital, he still owes far more than most insurers would pay for the procedures.

A college student's bill for outpatient knee surgery is a whopper — $96K — but the most mysterious part is a $1,167 charge from a health care provider she didn't even know was in the operating room.

A graduate student in West Virginia was concerned she had come down with COVID-19. But she couldn't get tested for it until her doctor ruled out other things, a process that cost a bundle.

Two nearly identical drug implants have very different prices. The one for kids has a list price of $37,300. For adults, it's $4,400. A dad fought for his daughter to be able to get the cheaper drug.

A New York woman worried that her sore throat might be strep, so she went to the doctor to have it checked out. Then came the bill — with a price tag similar to a small SUV.