2 years ago local health systems didn’t charge for MyChart messaging. See who does now
A Tacoma-based health care network is now charging patients for certain types of online portal messaging with providers, joining other systems that started the practice during the pandemic.
MultiCare has joined the ranks of UW Medicine and others charging for a select portion of messages that in some cases can save the patient from making a regular appointment.
As of July 1, patient messages sent through Epic System’s MyChart requiring “medical decision-making and more than five minutes of your provider’s time may be billed to you or your insurance,” according to MultiCare’s website.
“The amount patients can expect to pay ranges from $0-$35,” it added.
Scott Thompson is a media representative for MultiCare. He told The News Tribune in response to questions, “The vast majority of MyChart messages will continue to be free, including requests to refill medications, questions related to a visit within the last seven days, questions about billing or financial assistance and follow-up questions after a recent procedure or surgery.”
He added, “This change is estimated to affect about 2 percent of messages that go beyond routine correspondence. These are messages would otherwise require an additional office or telehealth visit.”
The sample fee structure shows that the fee, when applicable, would be billed for those with insurance as an out-of-pocket expense, which would depend on your insurance carrier’s rate policy. The cost for Medicare recipients could range from an estimated $3-$7 and up to $35 for those uninsured.
There is no out-of-pocket cost for those on Medicaid.
Thompson noted that providers are “responding to a very large amount of MyChart messages each month.”
According to MultiCare’s website, interactions taking more than five minutes that could face a charge include requests for new medications or changes to existing medications; discussion of new symptoms or problems; questions about news articles, journal articles or studies; changes to a chronic or long-term condition or requests for new referrals.
The website noted that “If you ask a question and your provider recommends an e-visit, virtual visit or in-person visit to address your need, you will not be charged for the message and will instead be charged for the type of visit you schedule.”
In December 2022, The News Tribune reported that the new MyChart billing trend came into play after medical coding changes made it possible starting Jan. 1, 2020.
While some outlying medical networks in the region had adopted new patient portal fees at that time, MultiCare, along with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and Kaiser Permanente, had not.
MyChart service for VMFH patients remains free, a media representative for the system told The News Tribune on Tuesday. Providers with Virginia Mason utilize a separate portal (not MyChart), that offers free messaging. It also offers portal visits (which do charge a fee and are separate from in-person or video visits) in lieu of appointments.
Kaiser’s sites in Washington also do not charge for MyChart usage or messaging access, its media representative told The News Tribune.
UW Medicine began billing some MyChart medical advice messages in June 2023, with similar rules as applied by MultiCare. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center patients also are under similar billable guidelines, according to UW’s MyChart FAQ page.
More entities are adopting this tactic as the use of such messaging portals has grown.
Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic, for example, last summer announced it would charge up to $50 for some messages. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported last August that the clinic made the move after seeing 132% increase in patient messages, which were sometimes averting the need for billable clinic visits.
