These days, a simple visit to your doctor’s office can result in hefty, unexpected fees, called facility fees. These costs are adding to the already high cost of families’ healthcare bills across the country. For example, in New Hampshire, a patient was recently charged an additional $1,000 fee for an appointment with a urologist, while in Ohio, another man was billed an extra $645 for an ear, nose, and throat specialist. These fees are added to bills for appointments at facilities owned by hospital systems. Unfortunately, because of health care consolidation, it is difficult to find practices that don’t charge facility fees.

On top of that, many states don’t place rate limits on facility fees, and many hospitals impose them without any advance notice. ‘Facility fees’ are often left out of pricing descriptions on hospital websites, and insurances will rarely cover these surprise costs.

Yet, it’s a well documented fact that 94 percent of Americans support legally requiring health care entities like hospitals, insurance providers and doctors to disclose their prices in an easily accessible place, including the added “facility fee.”

It’s partially because of steep charges like these facility fees that Solidarity HealthShare was founded. Our Members are able to enjoy lower health care costs because of our commitment to fighting for fair pricing on their behalf. No patient should face financial difficulties just so they could use a particular building for medical care.