From Name: From Email: To Name: To Email: Optional Message: Hospitals demand payment upfront from repeat ER patients from Kaiser Health News Feb. 21: Next time you go to an emergency room, be prepared for this: If your problem isn't urgent, you may have to pay upfront. In 2011, about 80,000 emergency-room patients at hospitals owned by HCA, the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain, left without treatment after being told they would have to first pay $150 because they did not have a true emergency. more 7701 Las Colinas Blvd., Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063