Arbitrary billing decision

Consumers are well aware of companies with difficult customer service experiences in a variety of industries, and health care is not an exception. KFF Health News published a piece on how a woman went in for one procedure and the surgeon decided to complete a separate preventative procedure while she was unconscious. Although the entire operation completed in the original time allotment for the initial procedure, the surgery center billed her twice, once for each procedure.

From a systems perspective, it makes sense that the surgeon completed the second procedure instead of having her undergo anesthesia again and to make another incision. However, the surgery center's decision to double bill -- even though the entire operation completed in the originally allotted time -- seems unreasonable. For a case like that, it feels that the patient should have some agency in deciding whether to incur the additional cost. Beyond that, the surgery center was unwilling to negotiate with the patient, handing her bill to a collections agency, which sued her in court. If cases like these persist, the general public might ask for additional regulations around medical billing.