Florida Trauma Centers Charge Patients Tens of Thousands of Dollars Just to Get Inside

http://iacknowledge.net/report-florida-trauma-centers-charge-patients-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars-just-to-get-inside/

Jameson
March 9, 2014

An investigation into state-designated trauma centers that dot Florida has found some shocking stuff. Fees and added charges will frequently net patients tens of thousands of dollars in hospital bills before they even see a doctor.

The findings, collected and published by the Tampa Bay Times, cited one man who was charge $32,000 just to get into the trauma center (which he was rushed to after a car crash). That money wasn’t for care or medical treatments, that was just letting him in. The staff looked at him for 40 minutes before deciding he needed to go to a different hospital. Despite receiving zero medical treatment, the trauma center charged him roughly $1000 for every minute he was inside the building.

The large bill a patient can expect is due to 2002 state law that allowed hospitals to charge a “trauma response fee” which, in a stunning lack of foresight, allowed the hospitals to designate for themselves. To no one’s surprise, they opted for an extremely large price.

The Times analyzed more than 10 million patient billing records, examined extensive court records and interviewed dozens of patients.

The analysis — the first of its kind — found that, since 2006, Florida trauma centers have charged at least 120,000 patients the trauma fee. The average fee today tops $10,000; the most expensive hospital regularly charges $33,000.

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