A glaring gap in Congress’ surprise billing law leaves patients on the hook for pricey, out-of-network lab tests

For Soung Luy, it seemed easy: His primary care doctor told him he needed blood work, and that he could get it done in the same office building in Marina del Rey, Calif., which was owned by the Cedars-Sinai health system. The doctor even assured Luy, when he asked, that the lab accepted his insurance and was in-network.

But even though it was down the hall from Luy’s in-network physician, and even though he asked, the lab was not in his insurance network. His bill came: $686.70 for a handful of blood tests.

“If I knew it was out-of-network, I would not have done it there,” Luy said. Cedars-Sinai eventually sent Luy’s account to a debt collector. Luy paid the balance, afraid his credit would get torpedoed.

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