Beware of hospitals that charge for parking

Rebecca Ritzel reports for Kaiser Health News on hospitals that charge steep prices for parking. Consequently, patients with costly conditions who are repeat hospital visitors don’t only have high out-of-pocket costs for their care; hospitals charge them crazy high parking prices. What’s a patient to do?

Ritzel describes how one hospital charges $28 a day and $27 an hour if you lose your parking ticket. Even cancer patients and patients with other costly conditions must pay these fees. The fees can add up to literally thousands of dollars.

Of course, patients can sometimes opt to take public transportation to the hospital or ask a friend to drive them. But, that is not always a viable option. Some patients are too sick. And, insurers do not pay parking fees.

Parking fees can keep patients from getting medical treatments and participating in clinical trials. It’s just too costly. Forty percent of Americans don’t have $400 for a medical emergency. Parking fees are simply the last straw for some people needing medical care.

Some hospitals waive parking fees to cancer patients requiring certain treatments. One study found that out of 63 hospitals, 20 did not charge parking fees to patients with cancer. But, of those, some did not charge for radiation treatment but did charge for chemotherapy treatment.

More than two-thirds surveyed charged varying fees. And, they remain an obstacle to care. Hospitals and others are finally looking into this issue. And, some will provide assistance, if asked.

For now, you can try to get grants for transportation to the hospital. But, that is not an option for most people. Instead, people go without critical care. One study shows that people with cancer can pay $1,680 in parking fees while they are being treated. This needs to end!

Here’s more from Just Care:

• Coronavirus: Have you gotten your cancer screenings?
• Fight cancer: Eat cruciferous vegetables
• Majority of cancer drugs that FDA has recently approved don’t work
• Plan ahead for a hospital visit: Talk to the people you love about these seven important items
• Coronavirus: What to do before you leave the hospital