Beloved All My Children actress Susan Lucci (Erica Kane) is once again using her celebrity platform to bring positive change to the world. The actress, who became a spokesperson for the American Heart Association following some serious heart health issues last year, is now using her voice to help end unexpected medical bills.
Almost one year ago to this day, Lucci visited Capitol Hill and lobbied Congress on behalf of the AHA to raise more funding for research on heart disease. While she was there, she also spoke out about ending the devastating practice of surprise medical billing. She's now taking it a step further and urging people who have received unexpected medical bills to help her get Congress' attention by sharing their stories using the hashtag #IWasBilled.
Says the actress in an Instagram video post, "A year ago, I was in Washington, DC, to lobby Congress to end the predatory practice of surprise medical billing. These surprise medical bills from specialist doctors or third-party providers have already thrown millions of Americans into financial disaster -- and when they are most vulnerable. More than half of Americans have received surprise medical bills, and these bills can amount to hundreds or thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. It's outrageous that Congress has still not acted to protect patients, and as we go forward in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, it's more important than ever to protect patients against unexpected costs. It's time for Congress to act."
She captions the video with a call to action, sharing, "Chances are, you or someone you love has received a surprise medical bill. As a volunteer for @american_heart , I'm calling for policymakers to protect patients from surprise medical bills that hurt families during their most vulnerable time. Join me in the fight to end surprise medical billing by sharing your experience by using #IWasBilled. We're listening."
Immediately following her #IWasBilled Instagram post, fans began sharing their own experiences of receiving surprise bills. Lucci took a moment to thank everyone for joining her crusade, writing, "THANK YOU!!! EVERY one of your stories of receiving surprise billing is so important!!! Thank you SO very much for adding YOUR voices to our effort to get Congress to act NOW -- to legislate -- to end devastating surprise medical billing!!!"
Susan Lucci starred as AMC's Erica Kane from 1970 to 2011. She not only won the hearts of daytime fans, but also garnered the famous nickname the "Queen of Soaps."
The actress is now the queen of philanthropy, working with the American Heart Association and also the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's Visible Ink, a program that gives people diagnosed with cancer the opportunity to express themselves in writing with the individual support of an experienced writing mentor.
What do you think about Susan Lucci working to stop surprise medical bills? Have you ever been sent an unexpected medical bill? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
