Imagine you go to a hospital for a routine procedure. You’ve made sure your hospital and doctor are covered by your insurance. The procedure goes well and you head home to recover. Two weeks later, you get the bill, but instead of the copay you expected, you get a bill for nearly $4,000. Turns out, a surgical “assistant” who was out-of-network joined your in-network surgeon on your procedure and your insurance isn’t covering that bill as you expected. You’ve received a medical surprise bill and now owe the difference between what your insurance will pay the out-of-network surgical assistant and what you were billed. Use these tips to protect yourself.