Hospitals Beginning to Ask for Up-Front Payment

Get ready to whip out your credit card before you are wheeled into the operating room or undergo an MRI.

Hospitals are increasingly asking patients to pay for procedures either upfront or before they are discharged. That's because Americans are shouldering a greater portion of their health care bills, and medical centers don't want to get stuck with patients that can't pay.

Traditionally, neither patients nor providers knew the exact price of procedures until after the insurer processed the charges. Now, however, new technology is allowing hospitals to determine the patient's responsibility in advance of treatment.

Starting the cost conversation early is especially important now because patients are facing higher deductibles and larger payments for services. Some are surprised to find out that they have to fork over thousands of dollars before their insurance even kicks in, hospital administrators said.

The policies available on the Obamacare exchanges are hastening this trend. Many enrollees are opting for the bronze and silver plans, which often carry deductibles upwards of $5,000 and $2,000, respectively.

"The bronze plans are scaring a lot of administrators because the patient liability is so large," said Debra Lowe, administrative director of revenue cycle at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. "Patients are unaware they have this high deductible."

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