AG Ellison to hold listening session on medical billing practices

MINNEAPOLIS -- Mayo Clinic in Rochester is now billing patients who ask questions of their doctor through the patient portal.

Mayo Clinic says certain criteria must be met before it will issue a bill. The patient must first reach out to their health care provider. If the question asked requires a doctor to make a diagnosis or clinical decision, the hospital will bill that patient.

Appointment and prescription refill requests won't be billed. 

Minnesota Attorney General Ellison is holding a listening session Wednesday night to hear about patient experiences with medical billing.

Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association plan to testify, saying billing practices can compromise access to care for Minnesotans.

The session is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Department of Revenue building in St Paul.