More patients are noticing added charges on their hospital bills, due to some hospitals charging an extra "facilities charge" when patients are treated at off-site, hospital-affiliated locations, according to a Fierce Healthcare report.
Billing separately for facility and for physician services, such as when the hospital owns physician practices and outpatient clinics, is a commonplace practice for large, integrated health systems, according to the report.
Many patients fail to discover the fees until they receive the bill, but hospitals — including Memorial Hospital at Gulfport (Miss.) — say the billing practice guarantees more appropriate payment for services.
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Billing separately for facility and for physician services, such as when the hospital owns physician practices and outpatient clinics, is a commonplace practice for large, integrated health systems, according to the report.
Many patients fail to discover the fees until they receive the bill, but hospitals — including Memorial Hospital at Gulfport (Miss.) — say the billing practice guarantees more appropriate payment for services.
Related Articles on Billing, Coding and Collections:
Oklahoma Governor Signs Rule Creating "Child Only" Insurance Policies
Virginia Democrats Propose Health Insurance Exchange Bill to Ward Off Federal Intervention
2012 CPT Manual Updates for Arthroscopic Shoulder & Knee Surgery