REDDING, Calif. — A routine emergency room visit at Mercy Medical Center Redding left one patient staring at a $14,136 bill for a few hours of care that included lab work, an EKG, and a chest X-ray. The patient was never placed in a room, aside from a brief consultation with the ER doctor, and spent most of the time in the waiting room lobby. After insurance adjustments of $13,396.90, the hospital billed the patient $739.10. That figure did not match reality. Medicare allowed