As part of the Biden administration’s broader efforts to lower health care costs, the White House announced new guidelines on Friday targeting a few of the most common sources of sticker shock. The new policy initiatives target some of the usual suspects: surprise billing, which was restricted in 2020 yet persists as health care providers exploit loopholes; short-term insurance policies that often fail to cover essential treatment; and high-interest credit cards and payment plans especially marketed to help patients cover medical debt.
The proposal also takes aim at surprise facility fees — a controversial charge that’s received less widespread attention. Facility fees are the extra charges tacked on by hospitals when they provide services in an outpatient location. For instance, patients might be expected to pay a facility fee for seeing a physician in a hospital-operated clinic or office. Independent doctor’s offices, as well as freestanding clinics, aren’t allowed to charge facility fees.
Biden plans to force health plans and providers to share information about these fees, with the goal of making them more transparent and less of a shock to patients who might not be informed about the fees ahead of time or even be familiar with the concept.
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