“There were three explanation of benefits from Blue Cross Blue Shield, each with a different amount due,” she said, ranging from about $164 to $81,900. “How’s that for confusion?”

All told, Ms. Poole spent about 96 hours dissecting each bill, line by line, comparing it with the providers’ medical records and keeping track of it all in a complex spreadsheet.

“It’s a broken system,” she said.

But, there is a little help in sight from a few new healthcare laws:

Starting in September, health insurers and group health plans must provide consumers a comprehensive summary of their plan’s benefits and coverage in plain language.

Read more over at the The New York Times: ‘Getting Lost in the Labyrinth of Medical Bills‘.