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A Texas boy’s cost over $1,400. A Pennsylvania woman’s cost more than $14,000.

Treatment for a Florida Medicaid enrollee’s cost nearly $78,000 — about as much as surgery for an uninsured Montana woman’s .

In 2025, these patients were among the hundreds who to investigate their medical bills as part of its “” series.

Insured and uninsured. Job-based and government-funded. Comprehensive and short-term. Part of a sharing ministry. So many people with different health insurance situations asked the same questions: Why do I owe so much? And how am I going to afford it?

As millions of Americans grapple with the rising cost of health insurance next year, the “Bill of the Month” series is approaching its eighth anniversary. Our nationwide team of health reporters has analyzed almost $7 million in medical charges, more than $350,000 of that this year.

Of this year’s 12 featured patients, five had their bills mostly or fully forgiven soon after we contacted the provider and insurer for comment.

Our mission, though, is to empower every patient with the information needed to understand, manage, and — if push comes to shove — fight their own medical bills. Here are our 10 takeaways from 2025.

1. Most insurance coverage doesn’t start immediately. Many new plans , so it’s important to maintain continuous coverage until the new plan kicks in. One exception: If you lose your job-based coverage, you have 60 days to opt into . Once you pay, the coverage applies retroactively, even for care received while you were temporarily uninsured.

2. Check out your coverage before you check in. Some plans come with unexpected restrictions, potentially affecting coverage for care ranging from contraception to immunizations and . Call your insurer — or, for job-based insurance, your human resources department or retiree benefits office — and ask whether there are exclusions for the care you need, including per-day or per-policy-period caps, and what you can expect to owe out-of-pocket.

3. “Covered” does not mean insurance will pay, let alone at in-network rates. Carefully read the fine print on network gap exceptions, prior authorizations, and other insurance approvals. The terms to certain doctors, services, and dates.

4. Get a cost estimate in writing for nonemergency procedures. If you object to the price, . And if you’re uninsured and receive a bill that’s $400 or more than the estimate, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has a .

5. Location matters. Prices can vary depending on where a patient receives care and where tests are performed. If you need blood work, ask your doctor to send the requisition to an in-network lab. A doctor’s office , for instance, may send samples to a hospital lab, which can mean higher charges.

6. When admitted, contact the billing office early. If possible, when you or a loved one has been hospitalized, it can help to speak to a billing representative. Ask whether the patient has been fully admitted or is being kept under observation status, as well as whether the care has been And while there may be no choice about , if a is recommended, you can ask whether the ambulance service is in-network.

7. Ask for a discount. Medical charges are almost always higher than what insurers would pay, because providers expect them to negotiate lower rates. You can, too. If you’re uninsured or underinsured, you may be eligible for a .

8. There’s help available for Medicaid patients. If you get a bill you , file a complaint with your state’s Medicaid program and, if you have one, your managed-care plan. Ask whether there is a caseworker who can advocate on your behalf. A legal aid clinic or consumer protection firm specializing in medical debt can also help file complaints and communicate with providers.

9. Your elected representatives can help, too. While a call from a state or federal lawmaker’s office may not get your bill forgiven, those officials often have with insurance companies, local hospitals, and other major providers — and advocating for you is their job.

10. When all else fails … you can !

Photographers

Jason Ardan Scott Dalton Loren Elliott Jamie Kelter Davis Matt Kile Jacob Langston

Maddie McGarvey Parker Michels-Boyce Sophie Park Jim Vondruska Jeremy Wade Shockley Rachel Woolf

Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by and that dissects and explains medical bills. Since 2018, this series has helped many patients and readers get their medical bills reduced, and it has been cited in statehouses, at the U.S. Capitol, and at the White House. Do you have a confusing or outrageous medical bill you want to share? !

�鶹Ů�� Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at �鶹Ů��—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about .