Patient-Physician Administrative Fees Impact—Healthcare Equity—Daily Herald

I was thinking about an article I wrote for the Daily Herald about a trend that’s quietly becoming more common in healthcare: physicians charging patients administrative fees. These fees often cover non-clinical tasks—responding to detailed patient emails, completing forms, calling in prescriptions, or offering a set number of phone consultations each year. Even for doctors who accept insurance or Medicare, charging for these services is legal when they’re not otherwise covered. On one level, it’s understandable. Physicians are spending more time than ever on work that doesn’t get reimbursed—negotiating with insurers, managing electronic health records, securing prior authorizations—while reimbursement rates fail to keep pace. But it raises important questions. When an annual administrative fee starts to influence access—such as getting an earlier appointment—it begins to resemble concierge medicine, even when the practice is otherwise a traditional primary care office. That’s where things feel less like paperwork and more like pay-to-play. Administrative fees should be transparent, clearly explained, and communicated well in advance. Patients should know exactly what they’re paying for—and just as importantly, what they’re not paying for. There should also be thoughtful consideration for patients who cannot afford these fees, so access to care doesn’t quietly become conditional. I don’t begrudge physicians for trying to manage an increasingly complex system. But as these fees become more common, it’s essential to ask whether they’re addressing administrative burden—or unintentionally widening gaps in care. Healthcare already has enough barriers. We should be careful not to add new ones without a full conversation about fairness, access, and trust. I’d love to hear how others are seeing this play out—in your practices, your communities, or your own care. #Healthcare #PatientAdvocacy #HealthcareAccess #Transparency #HealthEquity #Medicare #PrimaryCare #PatientRights