There are HMOs, like Kaiser, that solve most of these problems. Unless I'm traveling, I would never have to worry about such extraneous bills. However, for any

There are HMOs, like Kaiser, that solve most of these problems. Unless I'm traveling, I would never have to worry about such extraneous bills. However, for any particular serious condition a particular HMO might not have the top-rated team in the country. This unreasonable fear is used by non-HMO insurance networks to draw customers. Perhaps what we need is something like the WTO's most-favored-nation rule for domestic insurers, but imposed statutorily. If you're treating an out-of-network patient extemporaneously, you can only charge that person's insurer at the lowest rate you'd charge an in-network provider. This would remove the incentive for out-of-network providers to eagerly provide many services. That has its own downsides, of course, but it might help to resolve many of these billing nightmares. But, heck, maybe something like that already exists. Obamacare (aka ACA) comprehensively thought through many of these dilemmas. But enforcement has been gutted by the GOP.