Facility fees: Th e farce everyone pays for

[...]after some persistence, you discover that the chain-owned restaurant has layered in a facility fee: a charge that adds no value to your dining experience whatsoever, but that allegedly helps the corporate entity maintain its overhead and give an occasional free meal to the poor-so the owners claim. Because of these fatuous fees, the same treatment that cost $500 in an independent practice, now costs $1,500 or $3,000 after a hospital buyout. [...]a burger and salad would be $12 again, with better service. Because CMS can't and Congress won't get rid of hospital-based facility fees, doctors and patients must take action. Doctors must first say no when hospitals bribe or bully them to sell out. " "Because of these fatuous fees, the same treatment that cost $500 in an independent practice, now costs $1,500 or $3,000 after a hospital buyout."