Bellingham Patient Navigator

09/10/2026

Even if you are in the hospital (in a bed, on a unit) for days you could be officially an outpatient. This matters for your bills and your discharge if you need ongoing care. ASK and Advocate for your Admission status. Inpatient vs Observation

Observation Status is a designation used by hospitals to bill Medicare. Unfortunately, it can hurt hospital patients who rely on Medicare for their health care coverage. People who receive care in hospitals, even overnight and for several days, may learn they have not actually been admitted as inpat...

08/16/2026

04/29/2026

🏥 As of April 1, hospitals face stronger federal penalties for not posting their prices, with civil monetary fines now up to $5,550 a day for the largest hospitals.

The rule is simple: every hospital must publish both its cash prices and its insurance-negotiated rates as a machine-readable file on its website.

Most patients never look.

One ER visit for stitches at the same hospital: $5,805 insurance-negotiated rate vs. $256.84 cash price. The CPT code was identical.

That case comes from journalist Marshall Allen, who spent his career reporting on hospital billing before he passed in 2024.

The first move on any hospital bill is to request the itemized version, which HIPAA gives the hospital 30 days to deliver.

Then check each CPT code against FairHealthConsumer webiste for what insurers actually pay in your zip.

If the hospital is nonprofit (about 60% in the U.S. are), they're required by IRS Section 501(r) to have a financial assistance policy, often covering incomes well above the federal poverty level.