Gretchen Grim says she confirmed Mayo Clinic accepted her insurance before treatment. Now, she says she’s being billed for nearly $178,000.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In March 2025, Gretchen Grim was diagnosed with breast cancer.
What followed was a year of doctor appointments, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
Now that her cancer treatment is over, Grim says she is facing another battle: a disputed medical bill totaling nearly $178,000.
Grim says she had insurance and confirmed before beginning treatment that Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville accepted her coverage. She says her insurance company also arranged a single-case agreement with Mayo for her care.
But during treatment, Grim says she was told Mayo was no longer accepting her insurance — and that she never should have been treated there in the first place.
Now, Mayo is billing her directly for the cost of that care. Grim turned to Ask Anthony for help.
‘I don’t know if there’s words for it’
Grim says she initially put off getting a mammogram until her doctor’s office called to remind her.
When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she says she was overwhelmed by the number of doctors and decisions that followed.
“It’s overwhelming…because they send you to so many doctors.”
Eventually, Grim landed at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Before scheduling treatment, she says she called to make sure the facility accepted her insurance, which is through Personify Health.
“This is my insurance. Do you take it? And I was told yes.”
When asked whether that was Mayo Clinic, Grim confirmed:
Grim says her employer-based coverage is divided between a medical plan and a separate facility plan.
She says her insurance company then arranged a single-case agreement with Mayo for her care.
“I got my pre-approval letters and on June 13th last year I finally had my surgery.”
‘They never should have taken me in the first place’
Grim says everything changed after her first chemotherapy treatment.
“Right after my first chemo, they called to tell me that they were no longer taking my insurance and it was a mistake. They never should have taken me in the first place.”
She says the news was especially difficult because she was already in the middle of cancer treatment.
“There’s nothing like hearing you’re a mistake when you’re in the middle of chemo treatments.”
Grim says she immediately contacted her insurance company.
According to Grim, the insurance company re-confirmed the agreement with Mayo and continued paying for her treatment.
Then, this year, she says she received another call.
Grim says Personify Health told her Mayo was disputing the payments and had refunded the money it had received for her treatment.
With those payments reversed, Grim says Mayo began billing her directly.
The total, according to Grim, is $177,826.99.
Grim says the amount is divided into six separate balances.
She says one charge is about $900 for chemotherapy-related care, while another is more than $31,000 for her surgery.
The largest disputed amount, she says, is for radiation treatment.
“I think I had 16 treatments. They refunded that also on May 29th, 2026…and that is for $131,000.”
Grim says she has explanation-of-benefits paperwork showing her patient responsibility as zero.
She says she has tried to get an explanation for why she is now being asked to pay for treatment she believed was covered.
“Mayo Clinic doesn’t give me an answer. They just want me to pay.”
What Mayo Clinic says
Anthony Austin reached out to Mayo Clinic about Grim’s situation.
In a statement, Mayo Clinic said:
“Mayo Clinic works with insurance companies and other payers to advocate for patients who may benefit from a recommended treatment plan. Mayo Clinic does not have authority over insurance coverage decisions.”
Mayo Clinic did not address the specifics of Grim’s disputed bill in its statement.
Grim says the lack of resolution has added another burden to what she describes as the worst year of her life.
She recently underwent another surgery and is doing well. But she says the disputed bill has made it difficult to move forward.
“I want to move on with my life, but this is not letting me move on with my life.”
Ask Anthony is looking into it
Anthony Austin has reviewed paperwork related to Grim’s dispute and has begun making calls to better understand how the nearly $178,000 in charges are being handled.
At the center of the dispute is a basic question: Does Grim ultimately owe the nearly $178,000, or should the disputed payments be resolved between her insurance company and Mayo Clinic?
Mayo Clinic has spoken with Anthony about the issue off the record. Its statement included in this story is the hospital’s only on-the-record response.
Personify Health has not responded to requests for comment. The company has told Grim it escalated the issue after Ask Anthony reached out with questions.
If you have a problem you just can’t solve, you can email Ask Anthony at AskAnthony@FirstCoastNews.com