Kill a surprise medical bill under the No Surprises Act

This step produces the written breakdown every later move builds on: the provider’s itemized charges, what the plan paid or denied, what the explanation of benefits (EOB) says you owe, and the gap the provider is demanding. The trap is that the bill and the EOB are separate documents written for separate readers — the whole dispute lives in the difference between them.

1. Ask the billing office for an itemized statement if the bill you received shows only a total — the line items are what you compare.
2. Download the EOB for the date of service from your insurer’s member portal, or find the paper copy that arrived after the claim was processed.
3. Write a four-row table: billed amount, amount the plan paid or denied, patient responsibility per the EOB, and the balance the provider demands.
4. Copy the claim number, service dates, and the provider’s tax ID or NPI to the top of the table — every letter later quotes them.