Connecticut hospitals bill residents $1B+ in facilities fees over 2 years

Twenty-two of the state's 30 hospitals charged patients facilities fees at their outpatient locations in 2015 and 2016, totaling more than $1 billion in fees, according to WNPR Radio.

WNPR examined fiscal documents filed with the Connecticut State Department of Public Health Office of Health Care Access by hospitals and health systems statewide. The 22 hospitals that charged patients facilities fees made a total of $600.7 million in 2015 and $488.8 million in 2016 off of those fees, according to an analysis by the Connecticut Health I-Team cited by WNPR.

Here are four findings from the report.

1. The state's two largest health systems — Yale New Haven Health and Hartford HealthCare — accounted for nearly half of the total facility fee revenue in 2016. Yale New Haven Health billed patients $144.3 million in 2016, while Hartford HealthCare billed patients $80.9 million, according to the publication. A 2015 state law mandates all healthcare facilities be transparent in their pricing, including informing patients if they are billed facility fees.

2. Hospitals typically charge patients for outpatient services at facilities they own to cover their operational expenses, WNPR reports. Michele Sharp, vice president of communications for the Connecticut Hospital Association, told the publication the fees are necessary to upgrade hospitals' infrastructure costs.

"Generally, when a facility becomes part of a hospital, the technology, including software and hardware, must be of a certain standard. Additionally, these facilities must have emergency stand-by capacity and meet more stringent regulatory requirements. As a result, the infrastructure costs associated with hospital-owned facilities are greater than the costs of a standalone office," Ms. Sharp said.

3. According to documents filed with the state DOH's Office of Health Care Access, Connecticut hospitals charged facility fees at 184 off-campus facilities in 2016. The most frequent types of care for which patients were charged facility fees include radiation treatment, sleep disorder testing and mammograms, among other procedures.

4. Eight hospitals in the state did not charge facility fees in 2015 or 2016 because they either did not maintain outpatient facilities or because they simply chose not to, according to the report.

To access the WNPR report, click here.

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