Lawsuit Challenged Coordinated Health's Facility Fees for Foot Care
John Lychak of Lower Saucon Township knew he would receive bills when he sought treatment last year for a foot ailment. What he didn't expect was to be billed nearly $1,000 for hospital "facility fees" for care he didn't consider to have occurred at a hospital but at a doctor's office. According to the lawsuit, Lychak was treated by a physician in Bethlehem in a facility affiliated with, employed by or part of Coordinated Health and CHS Professional Practice, but not located on a hospital campus.
Lychak had an examination and steroid injection, later went for an MRI and had a follow-up appointment. He was billed $1,342. That broke down to a physician charge of $255, a pharmacy charge of $61, a patient facility fee of $369 and a procedure facility fee of $607, "notwithstanding the fact that the visit was a non-hospital visit and the treatment was performed in a doctor's office and not at or near a hospital owned or operated by CH Hospital," the lawsuit said. Lychak's health plan requires him to pay 20 percent of medical bills. In the end, he was responsible for $39 of the physician's charge and $511 of the facility fees charges. He had the same outpatient treatment procedure performed previously by another podiatrist at a cost of less than $150 for the visit and injection, according to the lawsuit.
Source: Paul Muschick, The Morning Call (Allentown, PA) [11/14/15]
