Houston area physicians urged Congress to enact site-neutral payment policies on Sept. 7

Houston-area physicians came together virtually on Sept. 7 through The Committee to Protect Health Care to advocate for legislative action aimed at ensuring that patients continue paying the same healthcare pricing for the same services in which they've already been receiving. This amounted from the fact that large hospitals have been purchasing small physician practices.

When major hospital systems acquire independent physician offices, they have the ability to classify them as "outpatient departments" or "hospital-affiliated settings," according to a Committee to Protect Health Care press release. It notes that this allows them to levy higher fees for identical services and bill privately insured patients an extra facility charge.

Typically, when a hospital system acquires a physician's office, prices surge by an average of 14.1%, according to the release. This translates to a substantial financial burden on patients, amounting to billions of dollars in additional expenses. As healthcare costs persistently rise, it results in higher premiums for everyone.       

During the virtual meeting, Dr. Owais Durrani, an emergency medicine physician based in Houston, provided examples of price disparities when services transition from independent offices to "hospital outpatient departments." According to the press release, he mentioned that a patient undergoing a Level 3 ultrasound diagnostic and screening at a standard standalone physician's office would pay an average cost of approximately $250. This charge would be $650 for the identical procedure performed at a "hospital outpatient department," even if conducted by an equally certified and qualified medical professional, potentially even the same doctor and staff. The contrast becomes even more staggering when examining routine endoscopies, which cost an average of $527 in an office but increase to $2,679 in an "outpatient department."

Other attendees aside from Dr. Owais Durrani included Dr. Audrey Nath, a pediatric neurologist in Houston, and Dr. Rob Davidson, executive director of the Committee to Protect Health Care, according to the release.