From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Aug. 18, 1988:

The Board of Trustees of Lawrence Memorial Hospital this week announced that a new fee schedule would result in lower bills for emergency room visits. After Sept. 1, fees were to be based on the level of services required from the physician on duty, with smaller medical problems resulting in smaller bills. “The minimum visit will be a total of $40 to $44 which is very close to what you would pay for an initial visit to a physician’s office these days,” said Dennis Strathmann, assistant executive director of finances for LMH. The minimum service level would include such things as the removal of a suture, an immunization, or a blood pressure check. The next level, which would cost $5 more, would include nosebleeds and insect bites. There were to be seven levels altogether in the new system. The emergency room physician’s fees could go as high as $185 an hour for critical patients.