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Health care costs are at the heart of a Health News Florida reporting project called PriceCheck. It lets you search and contribute to a database of common medical procedures. We want to hear from you, but submitting information on our database. You also can email our reporters at pricecheck@wusf.org (Tampa Bay) or pricecheck@wlrnnews.org (South Florida).You can also call 877-496-6999 if you wish to provide information or share comments that you do not want made public on this forum.

Ideas Wanted On Making Medical Bills Easier To Understand

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Medical bills can be incredibly confusing and difficult to read.

But do you have a better idea?

No, seriously, do you?

Because federal officials want to hear it.

Medical bills can be full of jargon, unexpected costs and inconsistent charges, and patients often have no clue when and how often they’ll be billed.

The public servants at Health and Human Services know this, and they actually pointed it out in a recent report. It’s why they’re offering up to  $10,000 for proposed redesigns of patient bills.

The contest is open to anyone, and HHS is encouraging people from outside health care to submit entries.

Organizers also urge participants to rethink how insurers, hospitals and patients interact.

A couple of hospital systems across the country have committed to piloting the winners.

Aspiring bill designers have until Aug. 10 to submit their entries. All the details are at the website abillyoucanunderstand.com.

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Sammy Mack is a reporter with WLRN in Miami. WLRN is a partner with Health News Florida, which receives support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.