Fast Facts
Unfortunately, surprise medical bills can happen to anyone—and in a variety of settings. While we don’t yet have all the data we would want to fully grasp this issue, here are some fast facts to better understand surprise medical bills.
Unexpected medical bills, including surprise medical bills, lead the list of expenses most Americans fear they would not be able to afford. Two-thirds are either “very worried” (38 percent) or “somewhat worried” (29 percent) about being able to afford their own or a family member’s unexpected medical bills. Learn more here.
Millions of emergency visits and hospital stays put people at risk of receiving a surprise medical bill. For people in large employer plans, 18% of all emergency visits and 16% of in-network hospital stays had at least one out-of-network charge associated with the care in 2017, leaving patients at risk for surprise medical bills. Learn more here.
Not all specialty providers send surprise medical bills: in fact, fewer than half of the providers across specialties send out-of-network bill. But the specialties with the most out-of-network claims are emergency medicine (16.5%), lab/pathology services (12.9%), anesthesiology (8.3%), and behavioral health (6.7%). Learn more here and here.
While more than half of states have at least some protections against surprise medical bills, only 18 states have adopted a comprehensive approach. States across the country have taken unique approaches to addressing surprise medical bills. Learn more here.