Nutex Health Turns Away Uninsured ER Patients for
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- Robert Behounek walked into Albuquerque ER & Hospital last fall with chest pain and severe swelling, but the receptionist told him his visit could cost upward of $1,600 and that the facility couldn't see him unless he paid first.
- Nutex Health, a Houston-based company operating the Albuquerque ER & Hospital, has opted out of Medicare at most of its facilities, exempting it from the 40-year-old federal law barring ERs from turning away patients who can't pay.
- Nutex claims it voluntarily complies with the spirit of the law by screening every patient to confirm they are not dying before demanding payment.
- Some patients, including Behounek, say they were never screened before being turned away — Behounek recalled being told 'We're not that kind of ER' when he said he couldn't pay.
- The business model of these opt-out emergency facilities is reportedly generating millions in revenue, according to STAT's reporting.
Why it matters: Nutex's Medicare opt-out creates a legal gap: uninsured patients with genuine emergencies like Behounek's can be sent away from ERs bearing the word 'emergency' in their names, even as those facilities collect revenue from paying patients. The screening claim is directly contradicted by patient accounts, raising questions about whether the voluntary compliance standard holds in practice.
