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Woman charged $2,000 for flu checkup, she says. Here's how to avoid the same issue.

"I was shocked, I was just shocked," said the patient told KVUE.

A Travis County woman said she was charged $2,000 to simply find out if she had the flu or not, and now she's struggling to pay the bill.

"I was shocked, I was just shocked,” said the patient told KVUE.

The woman shared her story with KVUE Friday on the terms on anonymity.

"$2,070.70 cents is a little outrageous,” said the patient.

She told KVUE that she went to the emergency room on a Saturday night, worried she may have the flu.

"I wanted to do the right responsible thing, and not infect other people,” said the patient.

A few weeks later, she got the tab.

"They didn't tell me how much it would cost, they didn't even tell me if they would accept my card or not, and you know ultimately they did not,” said the patient.

It's cases like hers that can be a warning for other potential patients.

Ben Gonzalez with the Texas Department of Insurance said insurance companies negotiate rates with medical facilities and doctors.

If you see a doctor out of network, that rate will likely be higher and will be up to you to pay.

Gonzalez said this is why it's important to check medical rates before the emergency happens.

"Especially in emergency situations, you probably don't want to check, you just want to get help,” said Gonzalez. "Those would be the things you have in mind and ready to go to in the event something does happen."

But even then, you could get a surprise bill.

"Your facility can be in-network, but the providers inside can be out-of-network,” said Gonzalez.

If that's the case, you could be eligible for mediation, which just expanded to include standalone ERs through the Texas Department of Insurance.

"We get the doctor or provider and the insurance company together in a phone call, and they talk about how can we make this better,” said Gonzalez.

So if you have an emergency, where you go will affect how you pay.

"Every insurance plan is different. Just because you have insurance doesn't mean it covers a particular facility,” said Gonzalez.

Retail clinics located inside a pharmacy typically accept most insurance, and the copays are similar to a doctor's visit.

Urgent care facilities can treat non-life threatening injuries and illnesses. However, copays vary by insurance and you may be responsible for a deductible.

It's important to ask if the facility is in your network.

For free standing emergency rooms, copays are similar to a hospital ER. You may get a separate bill from an individual doctor or lab service and they won't take Medicaid or Medicare.

"People think that they're going to an urgent care, but it's actually an emergency facility, and they may get those big bills,” said Gonzalez.

If you want to compare your charges to the average price of procedures, the Texas Department of Insurance suggests these websites:

Guroo.com

FairHealthConsumer.org

TxPricepoint.org

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