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.