Caitlyn Mai developed an infection when she was in middle school which caused her to lose her hearing in one ear. She spent years trying to get approved for cochlear implant surgery and when she finally did, she still was hit with a bill for $139,000.

When Mai called the hospital billing office to inquire about the bill she was told that her claim had been denied and they did not know why. Mai had met her out-of-pocket deductible and expected her surgery to be fully taken care of. But she still spent hours on the phone with the hospital to sort this out – with little to no answers.
Hospitals, often viewed as pillars of healthcare, are failing miserably when it comes to transparency and accuracy.
Mai’s ordeal demonstrates how hospitals can turn even a straightforward, preapproved procedure into a financial nightmare, thanks to their outdated billing systems and deceptive cost estimates. It’s clear that the real crisis isn’t just healthcare costs—it’s the reckless and opaque billing practices that leave patients footing the bill for hospitals’ mistakes.

Mai estimates she spent 12 hours on the phone doing what is supposed to be the hospital billing department’s job: ensuring that the bill was coded correctly for Mai’s insurance to process and pay the bill.

This story highlights the urgent need for hospital billing transparency. Better Solutions will continue to call out corporate hospital wrongdoings and poor policies and hold them accountable.