I'm upset at the insurance, don't get me wrong. Cigna was a terrible provider, and we had many issues with them. The doctor himself is most innocent of people who aren't the patient. The physician group he was a part of was rude and unsympathetic when we were trying to get an understanding of the situation. Their response to us is what motivated me to fight so badly. Their billing office were complete jerks to us, threatening us when we were just trying to understand the situation.

Absolutely the patients should receive life saving emergency treatment and not sent somewhere else. Huge legal ramifications there. And absolutely, the insurance companies share blame in this crap situation. Probably more than anybody else. However, for nobody involved at any level to explain to patients that the insurance might not cover the physicians fees is wrong. We have a right to know going in that the physican seeing us isn't in network and what to expect. It's not something we can check beforehand because we have no clue who is working the ER. That's on the hospital staff checking insurance information. They should have that information available and should be telling us what to expect.

I know you're seeing this from the doctors perspective, and I'm trying to understand that. Try seeing it from the other side and understand how upsetting it is for a patient to get these bills having no idea they are coming. Somebody needs to be responsible for at least warning a patient at the time of services provided.