This usually means, if they have insurance, they must go to out-of-network facilities and often find themselves hit with exorbitant surprise medical bills.

Surprise medical bills are unanticipated costs related to out-of-network or emergency care a patient received.

Not surprisingly, Black Americans suffer from a higher rate of surprise medical bills, at higher costs compared to White Americans.

In a recent Congressional hearing, Dr. Rhea Boyd, a practicing physician and healthcare scholar said, “ensuring that insurance is not a barrier to healthcare is really critical, particularly for African Americans…”

Insurance companies make billions of dollars every year by using sly tactics like skinny networks to lure consumers in and then slap them with a surprise medical bill when they go out-of-network.

It is clear that Senator Lamar Alexander and Representatives Frank Pallone and Greg Walden, three of the members committed to eradicating surprise medical billing, are in the pockets of Big Insurance.