About 35 million Americans are treated each year for traumatic injuries. The Trauma Center Association of America, a hospital industry group, reported 30 percent of U.S. trauma centers closed between 1990 and 2005 because of money problems. In 2002, a federal law allowed trauma centers to bill a fee that often exceeds ER fees for the most seriously injured patients. The fee can be incurred for activating trauma personnel — such as a surgeon and anesthesiologist — on short notice.
Trauma fees nationally range from $837 to $24,964 a visit, according to 2009 data. Central Texas hospitals impose some of the highest trauma fees in the state. In five years, trauma activation fees have more than doubled at three Seton-run hospitals in Texas. Top tier fees went from $7,706 in 2007 to $16,527 in 2012.
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