The hospital began applying provider-based billing to outpatient facilities and physician offices in September 2016. Before that, provider-based billing only applied to acute care departments. Now frontline staff at Decatur’s urgent care and ambulatory clinics must present patients with consent forms explaining the additional charge.
Still, the fee sparked outrage from community residents who have taken to social media to express their discontent. Some patients refused to sign the consent form altogether.
This discontent represents a national trend of Americans’ increasing frustration with the cryptic and archaic nature of medical billing.
Hospital officials said the extra fee is necessary to receive full reimbursement for Medicare services.
Katie Anderson, vice president of legal affairs and corporate compliance at DecaturMemorialHospital, said, “DMH did not arbitrarily choose to start charging this fee. We had to do this in order to get the full benefit of that federal program which allows us to serve low income patients that need our help.”
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