The Nebraska Medical Center is joining a national trend in requesting payment for some non-emergency services up front, including scheduled surgeries or procedures.

If you're hospitalized, the last thing on your mind may be money. That's why the Nebraska Medical Center will soon try to work out patients' bills before a planned stay.

"The hospital's financial advisors will contact the patient ahead of time so they know what's going to be expected of them financially,” says the Med Center’s Paul Baltes. “The financial consultants will talk with the patient's insurance company to find out what their out-of-pocket cost is going to be."

The new policy takes effect April 1st. "It's kind of tacky I guess for my liking to receive payment before any service is rendered," says Tim Gray of Omaha.

"I think that will put some people in a hard spot because they might not have the up front cash for that," says Sandy Mann of Omaha.

"I'm so used to having the co-pay that you pay afterwards, I don't know that I'd like it, but I guess they need to get paid, too," says Don Oswald of Omaha.

That's why hospital reps say they're doing this, giving patients with scheduled procedures advanced warning of their financial responsibility. "So it's not a surprise after they're discharged from the hospital or after they’re finished with their surgery," says Baltes.

This doesn't apply to emergency room visits where treatment always comes first with payment later, only scheduled visits. "If people find that they're not financially able to take care of that bill ahead of time then our financial department here will help them come up with a plan where they can pay that over a span of time, something that they can handle," says Baltes.

None of the other area hospitals contacted by Channel 6 News notify patients ahead of a stay to discuss payment plans like the Nebraska Medical Center, but there is a national trend showing more and more hospitals are seeking co-payments or deductibles in advance.