A Marine Corp Veteran Received $80,000 in Medical Bills for an Appendectomy It kicked off a months-long battle to have the charges reduced. By Elizabeth Lawrence, Kaiser Health News Apr 22, 2021 Rachel Woolf In late August 2019, Shannon Harness awoke to serious pain in the lower right side of his abdomen—a telltale sign of appendicitis. He booked it to the emergency room of the only hospital in the county: Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida, Colorado. After a CT scan, doctors told Harness he had acute appendicitis and required immediate surgery. A su...