Baltimore-based University of Maryland Medical System has agreed to pay more than $2.25 million in restitution to patients to resolve a dispute with the Maryland attorney general’s office over outpatient facility fees.
The settlement centers on facility fees charged between Jan. 1, 2017, and June 30, 2021, according to the agreement, which was signed Sept. 22. Maryland’s consumer protection division began investigating UMMS in October 2019 over how patients were notified about the fees. The division alleged UMMS’ notification practices violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act. UMMS denied that the law applied to its practices and denied that its facility fee notices violated the law. The health system entered the settlement without admitting liability.
Under the agreement, UMMS will provide $2,251,781.52 in restitution to eligible patients who paid out of pocket for certain outpatient facility fees.
The refunds apply to patients who received services at certain UMMS hospital-based clinics where the same service was also materially available at a non-hospital facility operated by a UMMS affiliate without a facility fee. Patients must have paid more than $24.99 out of pocket toward the facility fee to qualify.
Payments made by commercial or government insurers do not qualify for restitution, nor do facility fees associated with emergency department services, according to the agreement.
The settlement covers more than two dozen hospital-based clinics affiliated with University of Maryland Medical Center and other UMMS entities. They include clinics providing services in areas such as diabetes, neurology, psychiatry, otolaryngology, audiology and digestive health.
The restitution process must be completed within 12 months. Any settlement funds that remain undistributed after that process will be transferred to the Consumer Protection Division. The state may use the money to provide restitution to consumers, transfer it to the Maryland comptroller as unclaimed funds or use it for consumer protection enforcement or education.
The dispute involves fees charged before Maryland’s Facility Fee Right-to-Know Act took effect July 1, 2021. The law established requirements around notices for certain hospital outpatient facility fees.
A spokesperson for UMMS said the health system is committed to transparency about outpatient facility fees and will continue to comply with the law to help patients make informed decisions about their healthcare costs.
“UMMS updated its disclosures in 2021, when the Facility Fee Right-to-Know Act first took effect, and the settlement with the Maryland Attorney General’s Office does not imply any deficiencies since that time and should not be interpreted as a finding that UMMS failed to comply with the law,” the health system said in a statement. “Even before 2021, when the law provided no specific standards, UMMS notified patients of facility fees via mailers, signage and consent forms, and provided estimates on request. While we disagree with the attorney general’s interpretation of the law, we value the trust of our patients and will issue refunds to affected individuals.”
