Surprise Medical Bills Average $750 to $2,600, New Federal Report Says

By Susan Morse

According to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), millions of Americans with private health insurance experience some kind of surprise medical billing. Surprise medical bills can average more than $1,200 for services provided by anesthesiologists, $2,600 for surgical assistants, and $750 for childbirth-related care. Consumers expect their employer-sponsored insurance to shield them from high out-of-pocket costs for emergencies, but the ASPE report reveals that an estimated 18% of emergency room visits by individuals with large employer coverage resulted in one or more out-of-network charges, and this percentage varies greatly by state, ranging from a low of 3% in Minnesota to a high of 38% in Texas. Moreover, the report found that patients who receive a surprise bill for emergency care paid physicians more than 10 times as much as patients without a surprise bill for emergency care.

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