For the most part, Keyanna Jones and her husband thought they knew what to expect when their daughter Chloë had eye surgery last fall.
Even Chloë, who was in kindergarten, had a good understanding of how things would go that day. Before the procedure, a hospital worker gave her a coloring book that explained the steps of the surgery — a procedure to correct a condition that could have eventually interfered with her vision.
“Chloë is very smart,” Jones said. “She reads at almost a third-grade level now, and she’s only 6.”
Jones did her homework, too. With no pediatric ophthalmologists near their home in Wentzville, Missouri, who would take their insurance, she asked the insurer to cover Chloë’s out-of-network care as if it were in-network. The insurer agreed to let her see an out-of-network specialist.
Chloë made it through surgery without a hitch. Jones said her daughter enjoyed a few popsicles at the hospital before going home.
“ I slept with her every night because she was so worried she would wake up and not be able to see,” she said. “But it healed beautifully, and she was absolutely ready to go back to school.”
Then the bill came.
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The Medical Procedure
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