A proposal in the Colorado legislature would ban hospital "facility fees" if the care is provided to the patient via telehealth or in a clinic owned by the hospital but not on campus, The Denver Post reported Feb. 23.
The bill would also ban facility fees for procedures that could be performed safely in a location other than a hospital. The Colorado Medical Services Board would be required to define what procedures could be safely performed elsewhere by the end of March 2024.
If the bill is passed, the Colorado attorney general's office could investigate a hospital violating the law for "deceptive trade practices."
"We have heard from patients across Colorado who are getting bills with unexpected fees of over a thousand dollars with no explanation on top of what they pay through insurance," Rep. Emily Sirota, one of the bill's sponsors, said in a news release. "Facility fees are simply another way that hospital CEOs are lining their pockets at the expense of patients, and we simply can't let this continue."