Mercy Regional Medical Center in Lorain, Ohio, will no longer charge patients for facility fees, which have become a stigma for many hospitals across the country as of late, according to a Cleveland Plain Dealer 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, but patients have begun protesting the charges across the country. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has also recommended that Medicare cease paying facility fees for certain outpatient services. However, hospitals have argued facility fees are necessary because they subsidize the licensing, research and complicated cases associated with their networks.
Executives at Mercy Regional, which is part of Cincinnati-based Catholic Health Partners, announced on the hospital's website that facility fees will be no more at its facilities because the fees "are pushing healthcare costs two to four times higher than needed."
"When you visit a provider at one our Mercy primary care physician office, you are charged for only the services provided. And nothing else," according to Mercy Regional's website. "While some hospitals choose to charge a facility fee, Mercy chooses not to take advantage of its patients."
The announcement is part of the hospital's new advertising campaign, according to the Plain Dealer report. Mercy Regional sits west of healthcare hub Cleveland, which includes Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals.
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, but patients have begun protesting the charges across the country. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has also recommended that Medicare cease paying facility fees for certain outpatient services. However, hospitals have argued facility fees are necessary because they subsidize the licensing, research and complicated cases associated with their networks.
Executives at Mercy Regional, which is part of Cincinnati-based Catholic Health Partners, announced on the hospital's website that facility fees will be no more at its facilities because the fees "are pushing healthcare costs two to four times higher than needed."
"When you visit a provider at one our Mercy primary care physician office, you are charged for only the services provided. And nothing else," according to Mercy Regional's website. "While some hospitals choose to charge a facility fee, Mercy chooses not to take advantage of its patients."
The announcement is part of the hospital's new advertising campaign, according to the Plain Dealer report. Mercy Regional sits west of healthcare hub Cleveland, which includes Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals.
More Articles on Hospital Facility Fees:
Patients Fight Back Against Hospital Facility Fees
Facility Fees at Hospital-Owned Physician Offices Drive Up Cost of Care
Resistance Grows Toward Hospitals' Facility Fees