Scott Burns: Let's end 'facility fees' and support hospital transparency

To The Daily Sun,

For too many New Hampshire families, a hospital bill or any medical facility delivers confusion and dread. Sen. Maggie Hassan’s bipartisan Fair Billing Act, which requires hospitals to clearly identify where care was delivered and what fees are attached, offers a simple, overdue fix.

This matters because, as big hospital systems swallow up our independent local clinics, Granite Staters are increasingly hit with so-called “facility fees” they’ve never seen before. Such surprise charges can add hundreds of dollars to a visit.

Sen. Hassan’s legislation restores some fairness by requiring a level of transparency that will allow patients to push back on questionable charges. It shields communities where small practices are most vulnerable to takeovers and hidden costs. And it ensures that people don’t pay more for the same care simply because a clinic changed hands.

Sen. Hassan’s leadership on this issue is a win for every Granite Stater who has felt lost in a maze of medical bills. By putting patients first and demanding honest billing, she is restoring trust in our health care system. Congress should act quickly to pass this bipartisan reform.

Scott Burns

Franklin