Many families are struggling to find viable and affordable healthcare options, and a recent study by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine showed that patients are being overcharged for ER services by over $3 billion each year . The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey reports that the average ER visitor pays total costs of $1,318 and a mean cost of $615. However, the study showed that the charges for emergency physician services can be anywhere from one to 12.6 times more than the Medicare allowance. "There are massive disparities in service costs across emergency rooms, and that price gouging is the worst for the most vulnerable populations," said senior investigator and professor of surgery at JHU's School of Medicine, Martin Makary. "Our study found that inequality is then further compounded on poor, minority groups, who are more likely to receive services from hospitals that charge the most." To add insult to injury, a private study conducted by Milliman f