Hospital facility fees have been in the crosshairs over the past few years, and patients are challenging some New England hospitals' fees altogether, according to a Boston Globe report.
Hospitals bill for facility fees when patients receive treatment at physician practices and outpatient clinics that the hospital owns or leases. They have become growing revenue streams for hospitals and health systems as more physician practices are acquired.
Hospitals have said facility fees are necessary to help offset the costs of less profitable, but necessary, services such as trauma care and emergency departments.
Some patients in Massachusetts have filed complaints with the state attorney general's office. In addition, a new Massachusetts agency — the Health Policy Commission — has decided to probe hospital facility fees after the Boston Globe first delved into the matter in January, according to the report.
Hospitals bill for facility fees when patients receive treatment at physician practices and outpatient clinics that the hospital owns or leases. They have become growing revenue streams for hospitals and health systems as more physician practices are acquired.
Hospitals have said facility fees are necessary to help offset the costs of less profitable, but necessary, services such as trauma care and emergency departments.
Some patients in Massachusetts have filed complaints with the state attorney general's office. In addition, a new Massachusetts agency — the Health Policy Commission — has decided to probe hospital facility fees after the Boston Globe first delved into the matter in January, according to the report.
More Articles on Hospital Facility Fees:
Facility Fees at Hospital-Owned Physician Offices Drive Up Cost of Care
Resistance Grows Toward Hospitals' Facility Fees
Class Action Suit Filed Against Tenet Over Facility Fees