Union criticizes late-night fees at Beth Israel's ER
Doctors group says surcharges aren't unusual
A health care union trying to organize workers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has assailed the hospital’s physicians group for charging a late-night fee for patients who come to the emergency room after 10 p.m.
Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union drew on Medicare claims data that show patients treated by the Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at five hospitals in the state were billed a surcharge of $30 if they were seen between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Besides Beth Israel Deaconess, the other hospitals are St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Milton Hospital, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-Needham.
The doctors group and Beth Israel said the fee, charged to all patients seen during those hours, was a common practice in Massachusetts and nationwide, comparing it to different pay rates health care providers earn for working overnight.
“This fee is designed to offset the cost of 24-hour, 7-day access to emergency medical services and is in compliance with state and federal law,’’ Dr. Stuart Rosenberg, head of Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians, and Dr. Richard Wolfe, chair of emergency medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess, said in a statement e-mailed to the Globe.
The union held a rally yesterday afternoon outside the annual meeting of the Beth Israel Deaconess board at the Four Seasons Hotel, calling for the fees to be rolled back.
“Consumers are seeing more fees everywhere these days, but hitting patients with a fee based on the time of their emergency crosses the line,’’ said Mike Fadel, executive vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “It’s important for these fees to be refunded before this practice spreads to other hospitals and more patients are taken advantage of in their hour of need.’’
Spokesmen for Boston Medical Center, Caritas Christi Health Care, and Partners HealthCare, the parent of Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals, said their ERs and affiliated physician practices do not charge such a fee.
