Emergency departments demand upfront fees for non-emergencies

“At least half of hospitals are making efforts to collect patient co-pays, deductibles or other charges at the time of service in the emergency department, said Richard Gundling, vice president of health care financial practices at the Healthcare Financial Management Assn. The organization has 39,000 members, including chief financial officers and other professionals in health care financing. Gundling said a smaller but growing number of hospitals give patients whose problems are deemed nonemergent a choice: Pay an initial fee to get the problem treated in the ED, or seek care elsewhere. The fees range from $100 to $180 for uninsured patients, or the relevant co-pay or deductible for insured patients. He said it is unclear how many hospitals are charging ED patients up front for nonemergency care, but he added that hospitals financially squeezed by uncompensated care increasingly are opting for this collections model.” Kevin B. O’Reilly, AmedNews.com,  “New ED drama? Hospitals demand upfront fee for nonemergencies – amednews.com.”