Two major healthcare providers to force patients to pre-pay for some surgeries...

If you need surgery, you may now have to pay for it before the procedure ever starts. Two major healthcare providers in our region are changing the way they charge for some surgeries.

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"You go to the doctor's office, you pay a deductible. You go to the emergency room, you pay a deductible, but if I had to go in for some kind of surgery and had to pay half of what the insurance didn't pay, I probably couldn't do it," said Shirley Booher, a local resident.

Diane Pilkenton who said she already pays a high insurance premium feels the same way.

"To have to go and pay half out of my pocket besides that is a little bit hard to handle, especially in these times," Pilkenton said.

Meanwhile we learned surgery could be delayed if you can't pay under this new policy, so planning to prepay could be the new normal.

"I'll save up for it you know, just like everything else," said Janice Blevins.

http://www.wcyb.com/news/Expect-to-pay-up-front-for-some-surgeries/-/14590844/16484168/-/tyy9i8z/-/index.html