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A South Carolina woman was billed almost $18,000 for a biopsy — and only a portion was covered by her insurance.
Dani Yuengling shared her latest medical bill with KHN and revealed she spent the large sum to learn she didn't have breast cancer.
When Yuengling was 35, she found a lump in her breast. While she put off medical testing at first, she ultimately went for a biopsy — as breast cancer was the cause of her mother's death in 2017.
Yuengling had a few things on her mind when signing up for the biopsy. First, she had a $6,000 insurance deductible that she wasn't close to reaching — meaning much of the procedure would likely be out-of-pocket cost.
She also claimed the hospital, Grand Strand Medical Center, wouldn't give her an exact price for the procedure — stating that different types of biopsy needles had different costs. The hospital does have a payment estimator on their website, which Yuengling said predicted her cost to be around $1,400.
"That's fine. No big deal," Yuengling told KHN of her cost assumptions, even saying $3,000 would have been reasonable. When the bill came, however, Yuengling was facing $17,979.
A breakdown of the cost explained the total procedure, lab work, supplies and pharmacy costs that resulted in the giant amount. Because of her insurance, the "negotiated rate" was $8,424.14. Her insurance company, Cigna, paid $3,254.47 of that.
With Yuengling's insurance deductible, she still owed a total of $5,169.67 out of pocket. Patients with insurance are often charged a larger fee than those who are uninsured or have Medicare. The hospital expected more than five times the Medicare price from Yuengling and her insurer, according to KHN.
A representative for Grand Strand Medical Center told KHN the online calculator may have had a "glitch" and cited that breast biopsies typically range from $8,500 to $11,500 "depending on the exact procedure and equipment used." PEOPLE has reached out to Grand Strand Health for comment.
The hospital eventually agreed to give Yuengling a discount, lowering her out-of-pocket cost to $3,306.29. She paid off the bill with a credit card.
"I could not sleep. It was driving me crazy. I was having migraines. I was sick to my stomach," she said. "I hate having debt. I didn't want to think about it. Obviously, that didn't work because I'm still thinking about it," she told KHN.
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This Woman Was Billed $18K for a Breast Biopsy, and Just a Portion Was Covered by Her Insurance - PEOPLE
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