Residents, Lawmakers Trying To Put An End To Surprise Medical Care Costs

North Jersey lawmakers and residents are vowing to fight against surprise out-of-network medical bills.

Tony Cristiano of Franklin Lakes took his wife to Valley Hospital in Ridgewood when she went into labor; he refused to sign admission papers that he claims ambiguously warned that he could be billed for out-of-network costs, cbslocal.com reported.

The hospital allegedly charged him more than $1,800 for an anesthesiologist who was not in Cristiano’s insurance in-network plan, the website reported.

Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) has drafted a bill, the Healthcare Disclosure and Transparency Act,” that would force medical providers to clearly explain charges to patients, and to work with them to resolve billing issues.

The bill is scheduled to be introduced in June.