CareGuide Advocates

02/18/2026

WEEK IN REVIEW! Our CareGuide team’s highest savings by state are in:

🥇 Texas – $127K
🥈 California – $71K
🥉 Indiana – $55K

That’s over $254,000 in inflated charges tied to routine hospitalizations, outpatient surgeries, ER visits, imaging, and labs.

When standard encounters generate six-figure recoveries, the issue isn’t utilization—it’s pricing. For patients and their employers, brokers, and health plans, this is about fairness.

02/13/2026

🚨 PANIC! You owe half your annual salary for one hospital balance bill? 🚨
This is how fast “being insured” can unravel.

A Nebraska CareGuide member needed interventional radiology for a serious vascular condition. These procedures often carry five- or six-figure price tags due to imaging and facility fees.

This patient’s initial responsibility: $40,176.17 — nearly half their annual income.

What changed the outcome from big bill to zero balance 👇
✅ Line-by-line bill review
✅ Identification of excessive and inappropriate charges
✅ Leveraging statutory financial assistance

Coverage matters. But expert balance bill fighting after the claim is where real protection shows up.

02/11/2026

A routine outpatient visit can now come with a $1,000 facility fee—sometimes costing more than the care itself?!?! Yes, this is real!!!!

The Outpatient Outrage 2026 report shows that patients are increasingly charged hospital-level prices for routine outpatient care delivered outside hospital settings. This shift is largely driven by facility fees added after hospital systems acquire physician practices.

These fees can add hundreds of dollars per visit even when the provider, care, and outcome remain exactly the same. In many cases, facility fees range from just a few dollars to over $1,000 per visit, and can exceed the cost of the medical service itself. As concern grows, 21 states have now enacted laws to limit or ban certain facility fees.

This pricing structure directly fuels medical balance bills, leaving patients responsible for inflated charges tied to billing practices—not care complexity or medical necessity.

CareGuide’s Hospital Bill Eraser helps close this gap by reviewing bills line by line, identifying excessive facility fees, and correcting inappropriate charges—reducing or eliminating patient responsibility driven by pricing practices rather than care.

Article: https://zurl.co/sfGYt

Patients are billed hospital prices for doctor's office care. Outpatient Outrage 2026 explores how this harms patients and what states can do about it.

02/09/2026

We’re grateful to our clients and members for placing their trust in us during life’s most challenging moments. We will continue fighting high medical costs and simplifying the process of getting financial relief.

02/06/2026

Emergency services don’t always end at the hospital doors. Sometimes, the most expensive part happens in the air.

After a medical emergency, a Georgia member required an ambulatory care flight. While medically necessary, the transport left a household of 3 earning $50,000 a year facing a $70,256.41 balance bill for the flight alone.

Air medical transport in the U.S. is common and costly. More than 550,000 patients are transported each year, with average flights ranging from $20,000 to $80,000 or more depending on distance and level of care. While essential, especially in rural areas, these services often generate some of the largest surprise bills in healthcare.

Through CareGuide’s Hospital Bill Eraser, we navigated hospital financial assistance and secured 100% approval, eliminating the balance. This outcome required active intervention, eligibility review, and direct coordination with the hospital to correct the charges.

Emergency transport is critical care, yet pricing remains unpredictable and financially devastating for many families. Medical bills should not be accepted at face value. Access to care should not result in lasting financial harm.

02/04/2026

CareGuide's data from last week tells a clear story about what happens when balance bills aren’t taken at face value.

We saved $504,715.27 on our members’ medical balance bills across multiple states and categories of care 😀

- Emergency Room visits: $205,545.29 – The largest source of savings, with repeated high-impact reductions across Texas, Arizona, and several other states.
- Ambulatory and Care Flight: $114,328.85 – Life-saving services that are often shockingly expensive and highly negotiable.
- Outpatient surgery: $95,736.50 – Significant savings spread across Arizona, Georgia, Missouri, Indiana, and South Carolina.
- Lab and Pathology: $36,312.44 – Frequently overlooked charges that carry substantial patient responsibility.
- Imaging and Radiology: $34,459.10 – Consistent savings across multiple states, including Arizona, Georgia, Texas, and Louisiana.
- Hospitalizations: $15,529.32 – Reductions across Texas, Florida, and Arizona
- Sleep Study: $2,803.77 – A reminder that even specialized diagnostic care is not immune to inflated billing.

This isn’t just about the dollars—it’s about where the charges come from. Emergency care, hospital stays, surgery, labs, and imaging are everyday services patients are often told are non-negotiable and fully their responsibility. They aren’t.

One thing is clear: medical balance bills are not final. More to come this year from CareGuide’s Hospital Bill Eraser.

01/30/2026

One fall. One hospital stay. A $86,000 bill.

Falls are one of the leading causes of injury-related hospitalizations in the U.S. Every year, millions of patients are admitted for fractures, cardiac monitoring, imaging, lab work, and extended observation. What starts as an injury often turns into a financial shock.

This case came out of North Carolina.
After a fall, the member was hospitalized for a displaced hand fracture. Additional findings during the hospitalization made the course of care more complex. As with many fall-related admissions, the care escalated quickly — and so did the charges.

Original hospital bill: $85,907.58
Final patient responsibility: $5,850.31
Savings: 70%

CareGuide helped make this possible by navigating hospital financial assistance on the patient’s behalf.
We identified eligibility, gathered documentation, worked directly with the hospital, and ensured the patient’s financial responsibility was adjusted correctly.

This wasn’t automatic. It required knowing the system and pushing the process forward.

The bigger problem remains. Falls are common. Hospital pricing is inconsistent. And even necessary care can leave patients with overwhelming bills.

Medical bills should never be accepted at face value.
Because an accident should not become lifelong debt.

01/28/2026

Our real savings numbers on balance bills from last week speak loudly.

We saved $372,048.24 on our members’ medical balance bills across multiple states and types of care:
• Hospitalizations: $147,431.74 – Largest impact in North Carolina and Kentucky
• Emergency Room visits: $78,115.56 – Significant savings across California, Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania
• Lab and Pathology: $48,105.51 – High-cost services that are often overlooked but highly negotiable
• Imaging & Radiology: $44,089.43 – Especially notable savings in Arizona
• In-patient surgery: $28,591.00 – All from a single case in Florida
• Outpatient surgery: $25,316.93 – Savings spread throughout Alabama, Arizona, and Pennsylvania
• Ambulatory and Care Flight: $398.07 – Such a vital part of timely care

What stands out? Not just the total but the various care categories—emergency care, hospital stays, labs, and imaging are everyday services that people are told cannot be questioned, and that they must pay this as their “patient responsibility.”

They can be. We will save the why and the how for another conversation.
For now, the takeaway is simple. Medical balance bills are not set in stone.
More to come for this year from CareGuide’s Hospital Bill Eraser.

01/23/2026

Three days in the ICU. A $114,913.62 bill. Zero dollars owed.

An unforeseen accident led to a Utah family member spending three days in the ICU. During an already overwhelming time, hospital bills quickly became another source of stress.

Through CareGuide’s Hospital Bill Eraser program, we were able to erase 100% of the bill, totaling $114,913.62, removing the financial burden and allowing the family to focus on recovery.

Why this matters:
• The average ICU stay in the U.S. costs $5,000–$10,000 per day, often exceeding $100,000 for just a few days
• Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. households has medical debt
• Medical bills remain one of the leading causes of financial hardship, even for insured families

At CareGuide, we believe no one should have to choose between their health and their financial stability. This is why we keep fighting for our members, one bill at a time.

Because access to care should never come with fear of financial ruin.

01/22/2026

We are excited to announce Shai Gadson’s promotion to Director of Medical Cost Resolution. Shai has been a driving force behind the growth and impact of our Advocacy team.

Shai leads our Advocacy team, the heart of CareGuide and the work that directly supports members through complex healthcare challenges. The team serves as trusted advocates, providing empathetic, professional support while resolving medical billing issues, coordinating care, and securing financial relief for members.

In 2025, this work helped CareGuide save $30 million for our members, an increase of $14 million over the prior year. These results reflect Shai’s leadership in building operational excellence, coaching high-performing teams, and fostering a culture rooted in trust and radical candor.
As Director of Advocacy, Shai will focus on scaling our advocacy operations, shaping growth strategy, and expanding our impact as CareGuide continues to grow. We’re grateful for your leadership and excited for what’s ahead.

Thank you, Shai, for your leadership and dedication. We’re excited for the momentum and impact still to come.

01/22/2026

We are excited to announce Annah Marshall’s promotion to Vice President of Operations!

Annah has led the development and excellence of multiple CareGuide departments, including Data & Systems, Advocacy, and Account Management. Her leadership has helped translate complex healthcare data, client needs, and advocacy work into coordinated, high-impact ex*****on across the organization. The result: CareGuide saved nearly $30 million for our members in 2025 (an increase of more than 100% year-over-year).

Annah brings thoughtfulness, consistency, and heart into everything she and her teams do. As we continue expanding our client base and work toward reaching millions more members, Annah will be a key visionary guiding CareGuide’s growth, operational strategy, and long-term impact across teams.

We are incredibly grateful for your leadership, Annah, and excited for the impact still ahead!

01/22/2026

We’re thrilled to announce Ryan Miller has joined CareGuide as Vice President of Sales!

With over 25 years of experience in employee benefits and health advocacy, Ryan brings deep industry knowledge, a fresh perspective, and a passion that aligns perfectly with our mission to save millions on outrageous hospital bills.

As sales leader, Ryan will lead and scale our sales organization with a focus on building strong, high-performing teams, and meaningful partnerships. Drawing on his long-standing relationships with nationwide benefits brokers, he will help bring Hospital Bill Eraser to more employers and employees who need it most. Ryan will also play a key role in accelerating our growth across multiple channels, including more health plans, associations, health shares, and emerging strategic verticals.

We’re excited to build, grow, and win together. Welcome to the team, Ryan — we’re so glad you’re here!