ERs want payment before non-emergency care

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Florida hospitals are part of move by emergency rooms to require upfront payments from patients who show up for non-emergency care, according to a Kaiser Health News via the News Service of Florida.

The story focuses on the HCA hospital chain. But Naples-based Health Management Associates and Halifax Health in Daytona Beach also request that non-emergency patients make such payments.

Federal law requires hospitals to evaluate the conditions of people who go to emergency rooms for care. The Kaiser story says doctors worry the upfront payments will lead to patients forgoing care.

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.