Senator Ted Lieu (D) is backing legislation that would require hospitals to give an estimate of their charges when asked. Those estimates do not have to include the cost of physicians or other experts who contract with the hospitals, however.
The bill is likely to face an “uphill battle from state hospitals,” according to the report. California hospitals cannot hire their own physicians, which can contribute to billing confusion that may muddle the legislation.
According to the report, Jan Emerson-Shea of the California Hospital Association said, “Most patients have the belief that physicians are employees of the hospital. And so the cost estimates that the hospital can provide include those of all the various physicians who may treat them, and that is not accurate.”
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