This post is part of my Cancer & Healing journal, an archive of the updates I wrote while going through treatment for Stage III rectal cancer. These entries reflect what I knew and felt at the time.

A Cancer Patient Billing Vent

Today I finally called St. Anthony Hospital’s billing department after months of receiving texts and phone calls asking me to make payments.

The problem?

I had never actually received a clear, itemized bill.

I’ve been in cancer treatment since August of last year.

I’ve logged into the patient portal over and over again, only to find… nothing.

Today, suddenly, there were three statements from February for infusion medications and fluids, but nothing for CT scans, MRIs, colonoscopies or the countless other services I’ve received throughout treatment.

So I called and asked what I thought was a pretty simple question:

“Can you send me one complete, itemized statement showing every service, what my insurance paid and what I owe?”

The answer?

I was told someone would have to manually go through every single date of service while I waited on hold.

Seriously?

Cancer Patients Shouldn’t Have to Become Forensic Accountants

What frustrates me most isn’t even the amount I owe.

I fully expect to have medical bills.

What frustrates me is the complete lack of transparency and the disconnected systems.

None of them seem to communicate with each other.

The patient portal doesn’t tell the full story.

The billing department can’t simply generate one complete statement.

Everything feels fragmented.

I’ve worked in healthcare, and even I find it confusing.

Healthcare is already overwhelming enough.

Patients should be able to log in and see every service they’ve received, what insurance paid, what adjustments were made and exactly what they owe.

All in one place.

That shouldn’t be considered a luxury.

It should be the standard.

Looking Back

Cancer comes with an extraordinary amount of unpaid administrative work.

Appointments.

Referrals.

Insurance authorizations.

Scheduling.

Prescription management.

Lab results.

Scan reports.

Disability paperwork.

Bills.

Explanation of Benefits statements.

Phone calls.

Patient portals.

And somehow you’re supposed to manage all of it while you’re sick, exhausted, scared or recovering from treatment.

I had an advantage many patients don’t.

I’d worked in healthcare. I understood much of the terminology. I knew enough to ask questions when something didn’t make sense.

And I still found the system confusing.

That’s what bothered me most.

If I couldn’t easily figure out what had been billed, what insurance had paid and what I actually owed, what was this experience like for someone who had never worked in healthcare?

Or someone elderly?

Someone without reliable internet access?

Someone working full time through treatment?

Someone dealing with brain fog?

Someone who didn’t feel comfortable challenging a bill that didn’t make sense?

The financial cost of cancer is one thing.

The administrative burden is another.

And we don’t talk about that nearly enough.