After reading the article “
One-day stays a big reason for excess pay to hospitals, RAC project finds,” if I were a consumer of services, I would want to know specifically the criterion for determining either hospital admission or outpatient procedure determination. If I had to pay a percentage of the insurance cost—say 20%—this could be substantial given the figures posted for the cardiac procedures.
As an educated healthcare consumer, I would want to know my options, and what the risks are for choosing an outpatient venue vs. what are the risks or justification for an inpatient admission. It seems clear to me that the choice should be outpatient status. Of course there would be the “facility fee” charge add-on, which could raise the fee by up to $2,000 that should be examined and disclosed to the consumer in determination of the procedure cost. The physician should make it clear to the consumer what the status is of the procedure as to in-patient or outpatient, and how Medicare reimburses as either Part A or Part B claims.
Kristina Port
Port-Able Services
Novelty, Ohio
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