Health Care May Cost More At Hospital-Based Clinics

"Facility fees" charged at some hospital-based clinics may significantly increase the cost of care. According to the USAToday, this issue has come to the forefront now that more Americans have high-deductible health plans and increased out-of-pocket costs associated with their health coverage. As Americans examine their bills more closely, they are finding a significant difference in pricing between various providers. For example, in the USAToday article, a patient visited a hospital-based clinic, and was charged several hundred dollars more than she would have paid if she had visited a different clinic affiliated with the same hospital.

Smart shoppers should try to find out how much a procedure costs at a particular health care provider in advance - but sometimes the provider is unwilling to provide such information. Furthermore, if care costs significantly more at a particular clinic, and patients stop visiting in order to save money, it could have a devastating effect on the operation of the entire hospital. Facility fees are supposed to offset the additional costs that hospitals incur from treating uninsured individuals who cannot afford to pay for services. If nobody is paying the facility fee, will the hospital be able to remain open?

Legal experts expect that this issue will be resolved through the court system.