To: The people of America, as a whole.
Fair billing and scheduling
Petition for Fair Billing When Hospitals and Medical Facilities Cause Excessive Wait Times
Purpose
Patients are expected to arrive early, check in on time, and often face cancellation fees or penalties if they are late. Hospitals and medical facilities should be held to a similar standard. When a patient is kept waiting significantly beyond their scheduled appointment time, the patient should receive a reduction in their bill.
Petition Statement
We, the undersigned, believe that hospitals, clinics, urgent care centers, specialty offices, imaging centers, and other medical facilities should provide fair compensation to patients when they fail to see them within a reasonable amount of time after their scheduled appointment.
Patients arrange work schedules, transportation, childcare, and other responsibilities to arrive on time. Long, unexplained delays can create financial hardship, stress, missed work, and unnecessary frustration.
Medical facilities often charge late fees, cancellation fees, or may even refuse to see patients who arrive late. Fairness requires that facilities also be accountable when they do not respect the patient’s scheduled appointment time.
Proposed Policy
If a patient arrives on time and completes all required paperwork or check-in steps, the following automatic bill reductions should apply when the patient is not called back within the listed amount of time after their scheduled appointment:
15–30 minutes late: 10% off the bill
31–45 minutes late: 20% off the bill
46–60 minutes late: 30% off the bill
More than 60 minutes late: 50% off the bill
The discount should apply automatically to:
Office visit charges
Facility fees
Co-pays or out-of-pocket costs when legally allowed
Exceptions may be made for true emergencies, mass casualty events, severe weather, or other extraordinary circumstances clearly communicated to patients.
Why This Matters
This policy would:
Encourage hospitals and clinics to improve scheduling and staffing
Treat patients with the same accountability expected of them
Reduce wasted time and financial losses for working families
Improve trust between patients and healthcare providers
Create more transparency in healthcare billing
Call to Action
We urge lawmakers, hospital administrators, insurance companies, and healthcare regulators to adopt a patient wait-time accountability policy that protects patients from paying full price when their time is not respected.
By signing this petition, you support fair treatment, greater accountability, and a healthcare system that values the time of every patient.
Purpose
Patients are expected to arrive early, check in on time, and often face cancellation fees or penalties if they are late. Hospitals and medical facilities should be held to a similar standard. When a patient is kept waiting significantly beyond their scheduled appointment time, the patient should receive a reduction in their bill.
Petition Statement
We, the undersigned, believe that hospitals, clinics, urgent care centers, specialty offices, imaging centers, and other medical facilities should provide fair compensation to patients when they fail to see them within a reasonable amount of time after their scheduled appointment.
Patients arrange work schedules, transportation, childcare, and other responsibilities to arrive on time. Long, unexplained delays can create financial hardship, stress, missed work, and unnecessary frustration.
Medical facilities often charge late fees, cancellation fees, or may even refuse to see patients who arrive late. Fairness requires that facilities also be accountable when they do not respect the patient’s scheduled appointment time.
Proposed Policy
If a patient arrives on time and completes all required paperwork or check-in steps, the following automatic bill reductions should apply when the patient is not called back within the listed amount of time after their scheduled appointment:
15–30 minutes late: 10% off the bill
31–45 minutes late: 20% off the bill
46–60 minutes late: 30% off the bill
More than 60 minutes late: 50% off the bill
The discount should apply automatically to:
Office visit charges
Facility fees
Co-pays or out-of-pocket costs when legally allowed
Exceptions may be made for true emergencies, mass casualty events, severe weather, or other extraordinary circumstances clearly communicated to patients.
Why This Matters
This policy would:
Encourage hospitals and clinics to improve scheduling and staffing
Treat patients with the same accountability expected of them
Reduce wasted time and financial losses for working families
Improve trust between patients and healthcare providers
Create more transparency in healthcare billing
Call to Action
We urge lawmakers, hospital administrators, insurance companies, and healthcare regulators to adopt a patient wait-time accountability policy that protects patients from paying full price when their time is not respected.
By signing this petition, you support fair treatment, greater accountability, and a healthcare system that values the time of every patient.
Why is this important?
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