Carepassage

Hospital patient rate programs: how to ask

If you are travelling for treatment, this is worth twenty minutes before you book anything. A surprising number of hospitals have rates arranged at hotels nearby, and a surprising number of patients pay full price because nobody mentioned it and it was not on the website.

Why you probably have not heard about it

These programs tend to be set up by one department, mentioned on one page, and never promoted. The page is often several clicks deep, sometimes out of date, and frequently written for people who already know the programme exists.

It is also common for a rate to exist with no page at all, arranged between somebody in the hospital and a hotel across the road, passed on by word of mouth to the patients who happen to ask.

Who to ask, in order

Ask more than one of these. It is genuinely common for one to say no and another to know exactly what you mean.

What to actually say

The phrasing matters, because "do you have a discount" gets a reflexive no. Be specific about what you are and what you need.

Something like: "I am a patient at the clinic and I am travelling in for treatment from out of town for six nights starting the fourteenth. Does the hospital have a negotiated rate at any nearby hotels, or a lodging assistance programme?" That version gets a much better hit rate, because it tells them which of several different programmes you might qualify for.

Ask about these too, while you have them

A patient rate is one of several things that might be available, and the person who knows about one usually knows about the others.

Two things to check before you book

First, cancellation terms. Treatment dates move more often than anybody expects, and a cheaper non-refundable rate stops being cheaper the first time a procedure is rescheduled. Know the deadline.

Second, distance as a journey rather than as a number. A hotel a mile away sounds close and is a real problem at seven in the morning after a bad night. If you can, choose something you could walk to.

Common questions

Is a patient rate always cheaper than what I would find online?

Sometimes, and sometimes not. Public rates move a lot, and a negotiated rate is fixed, so on a quiet week you may do better booking normally. It is worth comparing rather than assuming either way.

The hospital says they do not have anything. What now?

Ask the hotels nearest the hospital directly, naming the hospital, and ask for the sales office rather than the front desk. Also ask social work about hospitality housing and lodging assistance, which are different programmes from a negotiated rate and are handled by different people.

How far in advance should I ask?

As soon as you have a date. Hospitality housing has waitlists, assistance programmes have applications, and negotiated rates have limited availability on busy weeks. Two weeks is usually enough for a rate and often not enough for housing.

Does it matter if I am staying more than a week?

Yes, and it is worth saying so when you ask. Longer stays sometimes unlock a different rate, and they change which properties suit you, since a kitchen and laundry matter a great deal past the first week.

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