She took one look at the hospital charges and decided to investigate further. “Even in our case, we waited until the second bill,” Kalsariya said. Depending on the medical procedure, Kalsariya said, a bill could contain an overwhelming number of line items that are hard to understand. Dr. Bhavin Shah was left with a $3,319 medical bill after he landed in an emergency room following a skiing accident in Wisconsin. But when a KHN reporter responded to the family’s request for help investigating Shah’s hospital bill, the couple decided to send in the form to accurately document their saga.

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