Colorado Mom Charged $847 'Facility Fee' For Son's Telehealth Visit

A Colorado woman is angry after a virtual doctor's appointment for her child left her with a "surprise" $847 bill.

Brittany Tesso told FOX 31 it started when she got a bill from the Children's Hospital Colorado for $676.86 after some doctors observed her 3-year-old son for two hours to see if she needed speech therapy. Despite the steep charges for the telehealth visit, Tesso claims she paid it.

Two weeks later, another bill arrived for the mother -- an $847.50 "facility fee."

“I can tell you right now I would’ve gone elsewhere if they had told me there was an $850 fee, essentially for a Zoom call,” Tesso says. “I was like, ‘Facility fee? I didn’t go to your facility. I was at home and as far as I could tell some of the doctors were at home too.’ And she said, ‘Well, we charge the same whether you come to the facility or it’s a telehealth appointment.'"

This is the same issue that afflicted a Colorado father last week, who says he was charged over $500 for a facility fee after his son's appointment. The doctor's office is owned by the Children's Hospital Colorado, too.

“I think it’s pretty sad and pathetic,” Tesso told reporters. “State lawmakers could really get in front of this. … You know they’re not allowed to do surprise bills, but I believe that’s what this is. It’s 100% a surprise bill.”

Children's Hospital Colorado released a statement on Tesso's $847 bill:

"This is not exclusively a Children’s Colorado issue, and we suggest that you speak to other providers, insurers and legislators to provide a broader perspective on the system that governs how we all operate. We want affordable and accessible care for all of our patients, and we continually look at our own practices to see where we can adjust and improve while at the same time we work to build a functioning system of care for kids.

"We agree that insurance coverage, healthcare fees and health costs in general can be confusing and frustrating to navigate, and don’t always make sense. To that end, we continue to advocate for state and federal policies that address healthcare consumer cost concerns through more affordable and accessible insurance coverage and hospital and provider price transparency, while also defending children’s access to care and the unique needs of a pediatric hospital."