Here are five key notes:
1. In 2013, Connecticut hospitals agreed to give patients information about facility fees before treatment, but there hasn’t been 100 percent compliance.
2. Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, Connecticut hospitals will be required to provide a clearer explanation for outpatient services charges as part of a broader healthcare bill passed earlier in 2015.
3. There have been several hospitals acquiring physician practices over the past few years, and patients who were familiar with the physician’s office became upset when they were suddenly charged the facility fees they hadn’t been charged in the past.
4. Hospitals and health systems acquiring physician groups are required to charge facility fees to notify patients from the previous three years within 30 days of the acquisition.
5. The billing statements with facility fees must clearly identify the fee intended to cover operational expenses and include a written notice of the patient’s right to the fee or other portion of the bill be reduced.
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