'Had to be a mistake': Oklahoma hospitals see gas bills skyrocket after winter storm

Hospitals in Oklahoma are receiving gas bills that in some cases are 4,000 percent higher than normal after a historic winter storm in February, according to NonDoc.

The "exorbitant" bills, as Patti Davis, president of the Oklahoma Hospital Association, described them to NonDoc, are affecting more than a dozen hospitals. Gas bills for hospital systems, inflated by the high price of gas during the storm, are ranging from $1.2 million to $11 million for one month of service, according to the report.

"The numbers that we are seeing are clearly things that the hospital would not anticipate to include in a budget," Ms. Davis said. 

In one example, Oklahoma City-based Integris Health's $5.8 million bill was 4,000 percent higher than normal, according to NonDoc. Brian Roberts, vice president for support services at Integris, told the publication he thought "there had to be a mistake" when he first saw the bill.

Ms. Davis said the Oklahoma Hospital Association is gathering data and beginning conversations with state leaders about the bills.

Read the full report here

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