Many people who are patients of Huntsville Hospital's doctors or facilities have contacted WHNT News 19 about a new, $25 annual fee. Those who've emailed us say they do not understand why they are being asked to pay this fee on top of their co-pays.
We talked to Huntsville Hosptial's Vice President of Communications and Marketing, Burr Ingram. Ingram says the fee comes down to a huge increase in paperwork.
Ingram says President Obama's Health Care Reform Bill has buried doctors under mountains of new forms. He says that means increased costs to the doctors to hire people to do all that paperwork.
Ingram told us, "There is a move toward this fee structure all across the nation and in our community, primarily it's just for the burden of paperwork."
Ingram says if you're not paying this fee yet, there's a good chance you will soon. While the health care reform bill was meant to give more people more access to care, he says it's also causing an increase in costs for everyone.
"Healthcare reform is happening," Ingram says, " even before healthcare reform is being fully implemented. The system itself is changing and it will continue to change for many years to come."
