One of the more uniquely American nightmares is not only surviving a life-threatening illness, disease, or accident, but surviving only to wake up to an enormous medical bill. Sometimes these bills aren’t even the result of an unlikely freak accident, either; sometimes you think you’re going for routine blood work or getting a check-up, and all of a sudden, you’re surprised to open your mail and see a huge bill because one part of your treatment was actually out of network, or your insurance didn’t cover what you expected it to. This phenomenon is so common—and so problematic—in the United States that Congress actually passed a bipartisan bill, the No Surprises Act (NSA), to help protect patients, as covered by NPR. The legislation would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, and is a considerable win for all patients (also referred to as consumers in coverage, which is telling in itself). As reported by USA Today, however, some hospitals and organizations are pushing to delay the start date, arguing that insurers misinterpreted the guideline to get themselves better rates. Read more