A recent NY Times articles details a financial problem that really is a disgrace —unexpected out-of-network charges.

Here’s an excerpt:

Before his three-hour neck surgery for herniated disks in December, Peter Drier, 37, signed a pile of consent forms. A bank technology manager who had researched his insurance coverage, Mr. Drier was prepared when the bills started arriving…

He was blindsided, though, by a bill of about $117,000 from an “assistant surgeon,” a Queens-based neurosurgeon whom Mr. Drier did not recall meeting…

In operating rooms and on hospital wards across the country, physicians and other health providers typically help one another in patient care. But in an increasingly common practice that some medical experts call drive-by doctoring, assistants, consultants and other hospital employees are charging patients or their insurers hefty fees. They may be called in when the need for them is questionable. And patients usually do not realize they have been involved or are charging until the bill arrives…

In recent years, unexpected out-of-network charges have become the top complaint to the New York State agency that regulates insurance companies…

Out-of-Network Rates Drive Unexpected Medical Costs

When out-of-network physicians perform hospital procedures, hefty charges can be added to medical bills. Insurers often pay the full amount or large portions, which provides an incentive for doctors to include out-of-network colleagues.