Hospital bills blindside millions of Americans for doctor appointments that do not require setting foot inside a hospital. Research suggests that when hospitals acquire physician practices, professional fees increase. With the addition of facility fees, the total cost of care to the patient also increases.
Hospital Costs
HEY NOW: Past-due medical bills are the reason 59 percent of Americans are contacted by a debt collector and 16 percent of Americans’ credit reports include medical debt — about $81 billion total. Yale researchers reviewed more than 8.9 million ER bills, they discovered that 22 percent of privately insured patients were treated by out-of-network doctors.