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medpundit |
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Saturday, October 09, 2004Health-care providers would be prohibited from billing patients insured by health maintenance organizations for fees beyond the co-pay amount or deductible under a measure endorsed by a Senate committee yesterday. Lawmakers said doctors and health facilities were charging patients for e-mails, phone consultations, and requests for prescription refills. 'It is becoming increasingly common for doctors to charge their patients 'access fees' on a monthly or yearly basis above and beyond the health-care plan's set co-pays,' said Sen. Joseph Vitale (D., Middlesex), a sponsor of the bill. 'While I appreciate that there are many services provided by physicians that are not covered by insurance plans, it is not right for doctors to go beyond the contract they signed with the HMO and pass those costs on to the patient. It is simply not fair to the patient,' Vitale said. I guess in New Jersey, doctors will just have to stop offering those services. posted by Sydney on 10/09/2004 06:02:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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