We've heard some craziness before when it comes to ridiculous hospital bills, but one out of California this week has left us pretty speechless. The story belongs to little Lainey Walls, an infant who was recently charged $10K for a two-day hospital stay following her birth. Now, that might not sound too outlandish, if Lainey's parents didn't have insurance coverage. But according to her mom, they do — and yet, she was still slapped with the astronomical bill.
According to Fox 6, Lainey's mom, Kelly Walls, said that her delivery was covered, as well as her own hospital stay, by United Healthcare.
But when it came to Lainey's stay? Apparently, they wanted Kelly to foot the entire bill — and the new mom was not happy about it.
“It’s frustrating and I feel like it’s wrong for a new mom to have to fight their health insurance,” Kelly told the outlet.
And as it turned out, it was wrong.
Speaking with Fox, consumer insurance advocate Emily Rogan shared that a newborn is always covered under the mother's policy for the first 30 days of life — and insurance companies are well aware of this.
“I’m so frustrated when I hear that," Rogan shared. "That is a world away from what a new mom really should be thinking about."
Soon after the Walls' story began to make headlines -- and Kelly called to argue with United Healthcare -- the bill was wiped clean.
And that was a HUGE relief to Kelly, who felt she was wasting the first days of her newborn's life stressed about money and arguing with her health insurance company.
The mom did have to lay out a co-pay for the stay, but no longer feels crushed under the weight of a $10,000 debt.
“That’s a huge relief that it’s taken care of,” Walls told the outlet.
This isn't the only story of its kind to make headlines.
Last year, Democratic presidential nominee Bernie Sanders took to Twitter to ask a simple question: "What's the most absurd medical bill you have ever received?"
The answers he got back ran the gamut, and sure were eye-opening.
One came from a mother who was hit with a $600 hospital bill for the three minutes her newborn baby lived before dying.
"He received no medical care," Dr. Jennifer Gunter tweeted back in September. "At all. As he died almost immediately he didn’t get enrolled in my insurance plan, so I got the bill."
To rub even more salt in the wound, this happened at the hospital where she herself was a doctor.
A slew of other shocking responses soon flooded in, too.
"[A] $120,000 emergency room bill came the day I paid $8,000 for my daughter's funeral," tweeted one person. "She died because she couldn't afford medicine and treatment after she was released. That is what access to healthcare gets you."
"Few years ago in the ER with my daughter suffering a severe asthma attack," someone else shared. "Rep from billing came in and made us pay $300 BEFORE they would send in a doctor to give her a breathing treatment."
It's no wonder then that the state of health care is among one of the biggest issues weighing on Americans right now.
According to CNBC report, 137 million Americans are currently struggling with medical debt. In fact, TD Ameritrade found that it's the top reason people, regardless of age, would consider cashing in their 401(k)s or other retirement savings.
It's grown so serious, that a county in Kansas this week began threatening to jail any residents who failed to show up in court over unpaid medical bills.
While there's a lot of factors that contribute to the issue, Dr. Marty Makary, author of the book, The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care — and How to Fix It, there's certainly one big culprit at the center of it.
“We have an irrational marketplace where price gouging has become an accepted way of doing business,” Makary told CNBC. But what most patients don't realize is that the cost of care at one hospital can differ greatly from what they may find at another, and it's important to remember that you can shop around — and don't have to send financial consent forms you're uncomfortable with.
At the end of the day, Walls' medical bill was the result of an error, and United Healthcare apologized for the mistake.
“We apologize for the errors in handling Ms. Walls claims for her daughter’s hospital stay, and have paid the claims according to Ms. Walls’ benefits plan," a note to Fox 6 reportedly said.
Still, her story does serve as an important reminder to always push back if you feel you're being unfairly charged for a medical service, and to call your insurance company before receiving any treatment or procedure, so you're always clear on what's truly covered.
