[astrophysician]

As the recipient of a $25,000 bill for an emergency visit to an out-of-network hospital that I have been fighting for two years (still ongoing), this is such an overdue blessing.

FYI -- many individual states ban "balance billing" i.e. hospitals sending you the leftover bill that insurance didn't cover (btw -- hospitals can charge a special "out-of-network" rate, in my case 10x the average cost around the area for the services I received). Problem is, if you are on a "self-insured" plan (your card should say this, these are plans you'll get at university or when working for a large company), the state law can't do anything, and there has been no federal law banning this practice. It's absolutely inhumane.