Mari Bryson is the mother of three children. Her youngest son, Carter, was born with a congenital heart condition. He is almost one year old and has already had two heart surgeries. Carter will need one more surgery before he is four and, eventually, a heart transplant. 

While the family has insurance through Mari’s husband’s employer, they pay a $9,000 deductible every year. Still, the lack of price transparency has created concern and uncertainty of what may lie ahead. 

“What baffles me is how the system works—that, as a patient, we don’t know the cost until the bill comes. We ask our doctors, but even they have no clue.”

The Brysons worry about how Carter will pay for his care when he’s older.