Surprise Billing

My son needed an ultrasound and an x-ray. I contacted a nearby children's hospital to see about costs due to their EOS machine. They gave me an estimated out of pocket of $582 for this "in-network" service. We went to the facility and I signed a Patient Share Estimated Statement that showed that amount.

Fast forward, I received a bill from the hospital for $2,200 (they did not file it with insurance – I had to file it myself after 2 months of going back and forth with the hospital) and I received a bill for $1,141 from an out of network radiologist. I was not given a choice of doctors, and I was specifically told there would be no other costs for the imaging.

Am I required to pay the full radiologist bill that I had no idea was out of network? I would not have had the imaging done at that location if I had known. If I am not required to pay, how do I get this resolved? My insurance company told me I signed an estimate, so it wasn't an exact amount. I don't think that's a correct assessment. I received two bills that amounted to 6 times the estimate. It went from $582 to $3,341, somehow! Thankfully, it appears the $2,200 was resolved, but the $1,141 is still outstanding. Thanks for your help.

submitted by /u/partialcremation
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