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The bill would require health care facilities to post signs in their buildings and on their websites that facility fees are being charged, but it does not require that hospitals or other health care settings disclose the specific amounts of the fees. The amount a patient pays can vary, depending on their insurance coverage.
Woloson said that requiring any additional information to be provided to patients is a good step toward greater transparency.
Consumers for Affordable Health Care surveyed Mainers about facility fees this year and found that 27% said they had been charged such fees and 62% said they were excessive.
“We are hopeful that policymakers will take additional steps that help minimize the burden such fees have on patients,” Woloson said.
Lawmakers removed from the bill a provision that would have barred patients who receive services through telehealth – without visiting a health care facility – from getting charged a facility fee.
Data shows medical debt plagues many across the state. Four in ten Mainers have taken on medical debt in the last five years and three out of four of those people still have that debt, according to a survey from Consumers for Affordable Health Care earlier this year. In addition, the survey showed that half of Mainers find it challenging to afford health care and that two-thirds would have difficulty paying a $500 medical expense. Across the country, nearly 100 million people have unpaid medical bills, according to the White House....
In an apparent effort to come to a compromise, the Senate amended the bill last week after it failed in the House, scaling it back. The amended version sought to bar reporting medical debt incurred for necessary procedures on a person’s consumer report but removed the rest of the measure’s provisions.
However, the House still opposed the bill and it ultimately failed Monday night because of the divide between the two chambers.
As Maine residents struggle to pay for everyday expenses, fewer funds are set aside for health care.
A 2024 survey conducted on behalf of United States of Care and Consumers for Affordable Health Care (CAHC), Perceptions of Health Care Affordability and Hospital Facility Fees in Maine, found that two out of three Mainers say they would have difficulty paying an unexpected $500 medical expense.
Too many Mainers are incurring debt to cover the cost of care. The CAHC survey further reported that half of all surveyed Mainers find it difficult to afford health care. Four out of 10 Mainers have taken on medical debt within the past five years, and three out of four who took on medical debt in the past five years still have that debt.
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2024
