Not all U.S. hospitals charge parking fees, but those that do are getting an increasing number of patient compalints, according to an article on the Becker's Hospital Review website.
At UNC Health Care in Chapel Hill, N.C., one patient is expected to be admitted for two months due to chemotherapy treatments. According to a News & Observer report, the 70-year-old wife will have to pay $8 per day, or $500 total during that time, to visit her husband.
"I'm almost 70 years old, and I can't afford to pay $500," the woman told the News & Observer. "Cancer's a big money maker for the hospital. So why don't they give the patients a little bit of a break on the parking?"
Comparatively, nearby Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C., has parking for $6 per day, but it offers a 10-day discount for $25 total, the article said.
The University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics recently lowered its maximum daily parking rate from $18 to $10 after patients lodged complaints, according to a Des Moines Register report.
Not all hospitals, especially those located in more suburban or rural areas, charge a fee. Edward Hospital & Health Services in Naperville, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, has free parking and free valet service.
Like UIHC, some systems are altering their parking policies to better accommodate and satisfy their patients. This past fall, Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago handed out passes for free parking, through a nonprofit foundation, for families who had babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, according to a Chicago Tribune report.
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