Went in for my 6 month check up. Got charged $800 more than last time because they now charge a seperate facility fee because they opened the new hospital. This fee is higher than my Dr. visit fees of $688.

They claim in is a new charge since we have the hispital, but i went to the very same docters office location as last time. This can't be legitimate. Guess i will be changing doctors....

You got charged $1,488 for a 6 mo checkup?
And previously you got charged $688 for a checkup, and you went back?

Just going to get worse.

About the only reason to go to a hospital/doctor these days is a heart attack or ebola. Otherwise it is not affordable.

So freaking happy I left S&W...in ways I can't even count. Both my health and my finances are better off today.

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Anyone else find the Scott and White

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Stopped reading right there. I already found your problem.

I do not pay a medical bill until after 90 days. Each month it will come and I watch the numbers change with each and every month. It is interesting to watch what changes, what gets dropped, what gets paid. Most of them adjust down considerably.

I thought S&W was dropping the facility fee for patients at the clinic and only charging it for true hospital patients. Did they change the policy?

In the past two months, I've taken my kids a couple of times to the Rock Prairie Clinic to see the pediatrician and have not been billed for a facility fee. I went to S&W for my TAMU-required Wellness exam last June and wasn't charged a copay or facility fee. I'm wondering if the OP has TAMU BC/BS or some other insurance. I believe TAMU made them stop charging it for their covered employees.

What they told me was that they apologized for just billing the fees without explanation, but the charges are "correct" and "facility fees are standard in every market where they have a hospital, if you are seen at ANY of the outpatient clinics".
Total scam, My insurance declined them of course, so I am stuck paying out of pocket.

I have Humana through my company based in Austin. I would love to verify that they dropped the fees for TAMU employees. Anybody know?

Check out this thread: S&W Facility Fee

St. Joseph is doing it as well. Has cause me more that a bit of frustration.

Are these fees labeled as "facility fees" on your bills from Scott & White? I'm going through stacks of bills & EOB's from S&W and BCBS after having the twin egret chicklets earlier this year. I haven't seen anything specifically called a "facility fee" on my S&W bill or EOB from BCBS. Still a lengthy list of fees & charges of course, but no "facility fee."

I went in January to see Dr. Appleton, who is an ob/gyn, and I was charged a facility fee of over $400. I had called twice before my appointment to get a price quote and then to confirm price because I was paying out of pocket. Never was I informed of a facility fee. I contested my bill and they said that they would not remove it. If anybody has had success getting it removed, I would be more than interested to know how you did it.

Amanda04 was that fee listed separately? I've been seeing Appleton for over a year and as far as I know haven't been charged the fee. I think.

Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure it was, but I'd have to find my bill to confirm. Are you a cash patient or do you have insurance? I've heard recently that commercial insurances are no longer charged the facility fees.

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What they told me was that they apologized for just billing the fees without explanation, but the charges are "correct" and "facility fees are standard in every market where they have a hospital, if you are seen at ANY of the outpatient clinics".
Total scam, My insurance declined them of course, so I am stuck paying out of pocket.

I have Humana through my company based in Austin. I would love to verify that they dropped the fees for TAMU employees. Anybody know?

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Are they in network for your insurance. If they are, pay what your insurance explanation of benefits says and ignore their bill.

I don't understand why anyone still uses Scott and white.

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I don't understand why anyone still uses Scott and white.

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Inertia
many of the internal med/primary care practices here are full, IIRC

Yep. The doctor I was lucky enough to get after I ditched S&W has stopped taking new patients. I'm very grateful for my good luck, and wish others looking to switch all the best with their efforts.

Scott and White stopped provider based billing months ago, however, keep in mind, the clinics are an "extension" of the hospital so a "facility" fee can be charged. If commercial insurances contract with SW to not have facility fees, then your lucky and are exempt, but not all insurances do this. Also keep in mind, if you have anything done, like xrays that are done at the hospital, there is a facility fee. Also, if labs are run through the hospital lab, regardless of where they are draw, there could be a facility fee. Before the hospital opened here, and a patient was seen in Temple, the facility fee applied, so this isn't new for SW, only new to this area because there is a hospital here now.

If they billed you more than you were quoted then you are in the right not to pay. It will be a fight, but maybe a worthwhile one, depending on your situation. They will send you to collections, and hurt your credit, and when they do you will hire an attorney that deals with such things, and you will not have to pay him unless he wins, and he should win, and he will get your credit restored and the improper charges negated and punitive damages on top. His fees will probably be 20-40% of the winnings. $400 is a pretty small amount so you might not get a lawyer to bite, but you can find one and confirm everything before you ever decide not to pay in the first place.

Alternatively, you could call a class action lawyer...

My wife and child are covered by BCBS but still use Scott & White because they have been seeing the same doctors for 14 years. They both have been several times since the new hospital has opened and we have never seen or been billed a "facility" fee.

I used the walk in clinic (St. Joe's) and they are charging your insurance like a hospital (not a doctor's office). I learned the hard way after I got the bill. I will NEVER go there again. It's ridiculous to walk into a doctor's office (no one would argue that place is a hospital) and get charged like you went to the ER.

There are different charges - doctors office are subject to your copay, facilities are subject to your deductibles and hospital copays.

My facility fees came dusguised as LAB WORK CHARGES. The usual $250 blood work was $798 and my insurance would only pay the $250. When i called S/W they explained that the difference in the charges from 6 months ago til now was the facility fee. It may be a loophole for them but it is still a scam. Any lawyers on here want to pusue a class action against them?

oldag76,

In the future, it might be best, to have your labs drawn at a lab that is not linked to a hospital. If St. Joseph is charging this fee too, perhaps try The Med, or The Physician's Center. I am not sure if those two facilities charge this fee or not, but worth checking in to. Your provider's office should be able to print lab orders for you to take elsewhere.

Update: I *have* been getting charged the facility charges, to the tune of $400+ (per visit) for my part. They were called "other imaging charges" and BCBS paid slightly less than half the charge.

I don't like the charges, but as others have said, Scott & White isn't the only facility following this practice and I'm glad my insurance is at least covering part of them.

My Dr in a st Joseph practice group told me he was writing me a prescription for my lab draws and dont get them done here. We go to cpl. My part is less than $20. My son had some imaging procedures and got a script and had done ar Bryan radiology. Saved hundreds.
Pretty bad when the doctor thinks his employer is ripping his patients off. Get a prescription and shop the procedure.

If they are in network then they have contracted what they can charge for services with your insurance company. If they are outside that contract, your insurance company may help you out in the fight.

I don't think it matters if they are "contracted" or not. If the hospital is part of provider based billing, they can still charge a facility fee. The insurance company will pay the contracted amount for the lab work, but they don't have to pay the facility fee, which then falls to the patient to pay.