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A trip to the emergency room can be traumatic enough, but researchers warn that many insured patients may be in for another shock when the medical bills arrive. Even if patients go to a hospital included in their health insurance network, the emergency room physicians might not be. That could mean an unexpected expense. (Murphy, 11/16)

Patients who get emergency care at a hospital in their insurance network have nearly a 1 in 4 chance of being treated by an out-of-network ER physician who may send a “surprise” bill, according to an analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, by two Yale University economists, is one of the first to quantify the surprise-bill issue that has caused patient uproar and stoked friction between ER doctors and insurers. (Beck, 11/16)

The stories can be dramatic, like the case of a New York man hit by an unexpected $117,000 bill from an assistant surgeon who didn’t take his health insurance. That and stories like it, told by The New York Times, drew attention to the phenomenon of “surprise billing.” It occurs when a patient gets care from a facility within his insurance network but unknowingly receives treatment from a doctor who doesn’t accept his insurance, and ends up with a bill for out-of-network care. (Levin Becker, 11/16)