Lois Thome
•8/31/2026
FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — A Lee County woman was hit with unexpected charges after a visit to the doctor and came to WINK Listens hoping we could get to the bottom of it.
Judy McQuaide says she visited the Lee Health office at Medical Plaza One. It's a medical office building off Summerlin, near Health Park Hospital.
She paid her usual co-pay of $35.00, but two weeks later got another bill for $59.13 for an office charge. McQuaide says the unexpected charge was disarming, especially on her fixed income.
"It's overwhelming because I thought I had paid and it was good, you know, good to go, and it's really overwhelming when you're on a fixed income," McQuaide said. "What would you have liked the office to have done? Notified me previously that you know there is an office charge, not just for the doctor, but an office charge."
WINK News reached out to Lee Health to find out why there was an additional charge. A spokesperson told us some Lee Health outpatient locations are designated as hospital outpatient departments, even when they are not physically located on a hospital campus.
Jaclyn Bevis, spokesperson for Lee Health, sent us this statement:
"Some Lee Health outpatient locations are designated as hospital outpatient departments (HODs), even when they are not physically located on a hospital campus. These locations operate under the same federal and state regulatory standards as a hospital and are required to maintain additional clinical staffing, equipment, technology, safety measures, and compliance programs that are not required of freestanding physician practices. As a result, there are higher costs associated with meeting these stringent, highly regulated standards, and services provided at these locations must be billed in the same manner as hospital outpatient care."
Bevis went on to state, "Lee Health is committed to transparency and helping patients understand their financial responsibility before receiving care. For off-campus hospital outpatient departments, signage is posted within the practice to notify patients that a facility fee may apply. Patients can also visit www.leehealth.org/billing for a list of locations where a facility fee may be charged. These locations operate under the same federal and state regulatory standards as a hospital and are required to maintain additional clinical staffing, equipment, technology, safety measures and compliance programs that are not required of freestanding physician practices. As a result, there are higher costs associated with meeting these stringent, highly regulated standards, and services provided at these locations must be billed in the same manner as hospital outpatient care. "
Lee Health says it is committed to transparency, and signs are posted in facilities like these to notify patients that a facility fee may apply.
As for McQuaide, Lee Health waived her additional fees. She will go to another facility to avoid the fee from now on.
