These Influencers Are on a Mission to Stop People From Paying Medical Bills -- WSJ

By Peter Loftus Ian Howard was shocked to get a $1,000 bill for a brief visit to the emergency room that determined he sprained his ankle in a fall last year. Instead of fighting the bill, he just didn't pay it. "I went in for a sprained ankle. All's they did was look at it and say, the bitch is sprained" the 28-year-old yells in a rant on TikTok. "Y'all ain't never seeing that money!" The 24-second video has racked up more than three million views on TikTok and more than 8,000 comments, including stories about other hefty bills that have gone unpaid. The rancor against rising healthcare bills is exploding. Millions of Americans are dropping Affordable Care Act plans after the end of subsidies, boosting the rolls of the uninsured. Even those with insurance are increasingly opting for high deductibles because costs for insurance premiums are so high. And coinsurance rules routinely require people to shell out even after they have hit their several-thousand-dollar deductibles. Howard said he posted about his ER bill because "I feel like most people probably relate as far as hospitals trying to upcharge an insane amount," he said. Unpaid bills are a real pain point for hospitals