I think the best thing you can do is to call her hmo and her insurance provider and just ask. Often as I've heard, insurance companies do reset the cap for fund allowance at the beginning of the year and that seems to have worked in your favor, since my guess is that the hospital bills incrementally as needed. Every step that costs money needs approval first. So you shouldn't be billed for it all based on the day she went to the hospital, but rather you should be billed "as needed," which means her visit should include billing for before and after the the start of the year, both. This is all subjective, I could be completely wrong, and policies will differ depending on the insurance she has, so it makes sense to just call her insurance company and cross check their information against how the hospital bills her. See if there are any conflicts of interest, and also, if you really feel like she's being taken advantage of, I've heard you may be able to look into finding an advocate for her through social security if her condition is debilitating. They offer it for free for some people, though I'm not sure about what's needed to be eligible.