Winona Health Service

Ms***:Thank you for your letter in regard to a patient concern surrounding an emergency department visit and the associated chargesWe have investigated the concerns and can help to clarify the circumstances that led to this concern for Mr***. On August 19th, Mr*** entered
into the emergency department (ED) at Winona Health seeking and requesting care for an injuryIt appears Mr***'s primary concern is that he feels he should not be charged for an emergency department visit as he assumed he was in an urgent care as opposed to the emergency departmentAccording to the complaint your office relayed to Winona Health, Mr*** stated that there was "little indication that I wasn't in urgent care as most health facilities have them attached"Mr*** also notes that he was concerned that he was not provided cost information. In response to his concern that there was "little indication that he was not in urgent care": Winona Health has a very clearly marked emergency department entranceThere is a large, red, lighted signage immediately outside the emergency department entrance at Winona HealthUpon entering the emergency department, there is additional large signage welcoming patients to the emergency department. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) mandates that all patients who present to the emergency department seeking care must be provided a medical screening examination regardless of their ability to pay. EMTALA is commonly referred to as the 'anti-dumping' lawThe Winona Health staff would be in violation of this law if they suggested to patients that they should leave the emergency department to seek care at our Urgent Care (located off campus), regardless of the severity of illness or injuryIf the patient had requested to leave the ED at any point to seek care elsewhere, that is certainly within their right to do so and the ED staff would honor that request and follow processes that facilitate the transfer of care. In response to Mr***'s concern about the staff not providing cost information to him: The care is unique to each patient and cost to the patient is difficult to predict at the beginning of the visit before an assessment and plan of care has been developed between the patient and the physicianDiscussion of cost associated with the emergency department care is to be done with caution as EMTALA does not allow any delay in the medical screening examination to collect financial/billing informationAs a point of reference, the charges Mr*** incurred were nearly half of the average charge for an emergency department visit. And lastly, we were unaware of Mr***'s concerns regarding his visit to our emergency department and would be happy to reach out to him. Additional information on EMTALA can be found at: https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EMTALA/Respectfully, Rebecca ***, RN, MSN, MHA Vice President or Emergency and Urgent Care Services - Winona Health