Woman faces bankruptcy after ambulance delivers her to out-of-network ER — when in-network hospital was 3 blocks away


St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin is about three blocks from nearby Meriter Hospital. For Megan Rothbauer, they are $50,000 apart.
In September, 2013, Rothbauer collapsed at work and went into cardiac arrest. Unconscious when paramedics arrived (she would remain in a coma for 10 days), the 30-year-old was delivered to the St. Mary's ER. Though Rothbauer has health insurance, the St. Mary's ER was out-of-network, while Meriter Hospital — just down the road from St. Mary's — was in-network. "I was in a coma. I couldn't very well wake up and say, 'Hey, take me to the next hospital,'" she told Madison's News 3. "It was the closest hospital to where I had my event, so naturally the ambulance took me there." The result, by Rothbauer's estimation, was $50,000 in uncovered medical bills that have left her on the brink of bankruptcy.
The two ERs' enormous billing discrepancy has to do with "balance billing," explained below in News 3's report on Rothbauer's ordeal. --Mike Barry
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Mike Barry is the senior editor of audience development and outreach at TheWeek.com. He was previously a contributing editor at The Huffington Post. Prior to that, he was best known for interrupting a college chemistry class.
-
Ukraine: Trump's mixed messages
Feature Trump reverses a Pentagon freeze on Patriot missiles to Ukraine as Russia ramps up air attacks
-
Diddy: An abuser who escaped justice?
Feature The jury cleared Sean Combs of major charges but found him guilty of lesser offenses
-
Death from above: Drones upend rules of war in Ukraine
Feature The world's militaries are paying close attention to drone use in the Russia-Ukraine war
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off