New ad highlights patients hit with surprise medical bills

(The Center Square) – A new television ad from PatientRightsAdvocate.org features patients from across the country calling on Congress to require upfront healthcare pricing after each faced unexpected medical bills. The ad began airing in Washington, D.C., and select states over Easter weekend. It highlights separate patients from Alabama, California, New Mexico and Tennessee who say hidden healthcare prices led to severe financial consequences. “Healthcare is the only industry where consumers are expected to make binding financial commitments without knowing how much they will owe,” Kerry Schrader of Hoover, Alabama, said in a news release provided by PatientRightsAdvocate.org. “The ‘Patients Deserve Price Tags Act’ will help Americans like me have financial certainty and hold hospitals accountable.” Schrader said she sought an upfront price for a biopsy, but no one gave her a clear answer. She later received bills totali