As a retired OB-GYN who dedicated over three decades to caring for patients, I’ve witnessed firsthand the challenges families face when it comes to accessing affordable health care. While many strides have been made in recent years, the rising costs of health care continue to weigh heavily on Colorado families. One particular issue that deserves more attention — and action — is the proliferation of facility fees that hospitals charge on top of the cost of care.

Facility fees are additional charges that hospitals and hospital-affiliated providers add to a patient’s bill for simply being seen at their facility. These fees can add hundreds, even thousands of dollars to a bill, making health care more expensive without improving the quality of care. Patients who see an independent provider for the same services often avoid these added costs, but with hospitals buying up more independent practices, it’s becoming harder for Coloradans to find those alternatives.

In 2023, our state legislators took an important step by passing House Bill 23-1215, which established a task force to investigate the use of these facility fees. The result of that investigation, the Hospital Facility Fee Report, was released on October 1. This report, while limited by the available data, confirms what so many Coloradans have experienced firsthand — facility fees are driving up the cost of care without providing additional value to patients.

The numbers speak for themselves: Between 2017 and 2022, Coloradans paid over $13.4 billion in facility fees when visiting hospital-affiliated providers, and the fees have increased by 10% each year. The report also reveals that patients who see hospital-affiliated providers pay nearly double what they would with independent providers for the same services.

The Hospital Facility Fee Report underscores the need for further regulation. Without additional state action, these fees will continue to rise, making health care even less affordable and accessible for the families who need it most.

Facility fees have surged alongside the rapid consolidation of health care providers, as hospitals acquire independent practices and then charge these additional fees to bolster their profits. This consolidation reduces competition and leaves patients with fewer — and more expensive — options.

The report highlights three key takeaways:

Facility fees do not result in better patient outcomes.

They create uncertainty and barriers to accessing affordable care.

They disproportionately benefit big hospital systems, not patients.

As the report shows, this problem is only growing. Colorado’s decision-makers must take further action to ensure that hospitals and their providers can’t impose these unregulated fees on patients. Our state must step up to regulate when and how these fees can be charged, so that patients can plan for and afford the health care they need.

The release of the Hospital Facility Fee Report should serve as a rallying cry for lawmakers to go beyond what has already been done. Coloradans deserve transparency and fairness in health care, and it’s time to put patients’ needs ahead of hospital profits. If we don’t act now, the hidden costs of health care will only continue to rise, making it even harder for families to get the care they need.

Caren McCready lives in Boulder.