Centre County commissioners and Penn State Human Resources are gathering more information about new facility fees at certain Geisinger locations, including Geisinger Healthplex State College in Gray's Woods.
They're looking into complaints by employees and people on social media saying Geisinger recently charged them a facility fee for speciality care appointments. The costs of the fees range, but several people reported a fee ranging from $200 to $400 dollars a visit.
Andrea Pollock, a Centre County resident, said Geisinger Gray's Woods charged her a $245 facility fee for a surgery follow-up appointment.
"(My) insurance company has stated they were unaware and had not known of the charges and they were not paying them," Pollock said.
Under Highmark, the company that administers health insurance for Penn State, employees have to pay the facility fee until they meet their deductible. After that, employees will have to pay 10% of the fee. That's according to a new frequently asked questions webpage created in response to the fees.
"Several employees have been in touch recently with Penn State Human Resources concerning facility fees included as part of their medical bills, including those who patronize Geisinger facilities," said Wyatt DuBois, a Penn State spokesperson. "While the frequency of such fees has not significantly increased, some employees have shared with us that Geisinger has changed the way it communicates about these costs with patients, in ways that may make the fees more obvious."
DuBois said Penn State's benefits team is regularly in touch with Highmark to advocate for employees. He also said the university can help employees find other health care providers who do not charge facility fees.
In response to a question from WPSU, a Geisinger spokesperson confirmed Geisinger Healthplex State College in Gray's Woods and Geisinger Scenery Park are now hospital outpatient clinics designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Health as affiliates of Geisinger Lewistown Hospital.
"With state and federal government reimbursement rates that are far below the cost of providing care, these fees help Geisinger bring more specialists and the latest technologies to the communities we serve," Geisinger's statement said. "While these fees can be included for specialist appointments, there are none for primary care, family medicine, pediatrics and behavioral health providers."
Geisinger did not say if these facility fees will be charged at all specialist appointments.
Lingering questions and rumors about the facility fees led to a heated discussion at Tuesday's Centre County Employee Benefits Trust meeting. Centre County Commissioners sit on that board, which oversees employee benefits for county government workers.
"This is going to jack up our health care costs tremendously," said Centre County Commissioner Amber Concepcion. "And potentially keep people from accessing services," added Commissioner Steve Dershem.
Concepcion said she heard from Geisinger that Scenery Park is not implementing a facility fee until later this year, but the fee is already in effect at Gray's Woods.
Commissioners said they want to schedule a meeting with Geisinger representatives to get more information about what triggers these facility fees and where they're being charged. Until then, Dershem said any conversation surrounding the county lending money to Geisinger through revenue bonds is "in jeopardy," as he called these facility fees "exploitative."
"My problem is that the citizens of our community can't have babies without paying a $250 co-pay every time they go to a gynecologist or OBGYN," Dershem said. "This just infuriates me on a variety of different levels."
Once commissioners have more information, Commissioner Chair Mark Higgins said they'll meet with other organizations in the county and possibly hold press conferences to raise awareness about the issue and put pressure on Geisinger to give them more information.
If you've been charged a facility fee at a Geisinger location or another health care provider in the area, we'd like to hear your story. Email radionews@psu.edu or call 814-863-9171.
Copyright 2025 WPSU