ER at Bull Run
“As I speak to folks in my district, I regularly hear stories of confusion regarding the difference between urgent care clinics and these freestanding emergency rooms, which are generally far more expensive,” the Republican from Georgetown said.
Source: San Antonio Business Journal
The new chairman of the Texas Senate Committee on Health & Human Services has stepped boldly into the fray of competition among urgent care clinics, freestanding emergency rooms and hospital emergency rooms.
Kimberly Reeves, Capitol reporter-, Austin Business Journal
The new chairman of the Texas Senate Committee on Health & Human Services has stepped boldly into the fray of competition among urgent care clinics, freestanding emergency rooms and hospital emergency rooms.
The one goal of Sen. Charles Schwertner’s Senate Bill 425 is to increase transparency — not stifle competition, he said. Schwertner, now in his second session in the Senate, was hearing too often from his constituents who suffered sticker shock when taking minor medical issues to more expensive freestanding emergency rooms.
“As I speak to folks in my district, I regularly hear stories of confusion regarding the difference between urgent care clinics and these freestanding emergency rooms, which are generally far more expensive,” the Republican from Georgetown said.
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“That confusion quickly turns to anger and frustration when the patient is later sent an exorbitant balance bill they were not expecting.”
Some of those complaints were recorded on Schwertner’s Facebook page when he announced the filing of his bill this week. The senator, an orthopedic surgeon, is quick to emphasize he is all for competition, but he wants costs clearly outlined.
Freestanding emergency rooms may look the same from the outside but are often equipped for a wider range of medical care than an urgent care clinic. The scope of care is intended to be different. An urgent care clinic would be obligated to refer a patient to an emergency room for complicated care. On the other hand, a freestanding emergency room is not obligated to refer a patient to an urgent care clinic for a case of the flu.
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