Four hospitals were cited in a recent Health Affairs blog post for pushing the healthcare price transparency envelope beyond publishing chargemaster price lists on the internet.
In their post, David Sandman, PhD, president and CEO of the New York State Health Foundation, and Mark A. Zezza, PhD, director for policy and research at the foundation, applauded the efforts of Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth, Hollywood, Fla.-based Memorial Healthcare System, Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health and Bethlehem, Pa.-based St. Luke's University Health.
Effective Jan. 1, CMS required hospitals to publish their chargemaster price lists on the internet in a machine-readable format. They also may be required to publish the rates they negotiate with insurers for hundreds of services consumers are likely to shop for in a searchable and consumer-friendly manner.
UCHealth offers a price estimates tool that provides patients with out-of-pocket cost estimates for select services and procedures based on their insurance plan information. The 10-hospital system announced the tool Dec. 4.
"Rather than focusing on negotiated prices, it reports the expected out-of-pocket liability for consumers, which incorporates contractually negotiated discounts and the insurance payment, as well as the current status of the patient’s benefits, such as how much of the deductible has been met," Drs. Sandman and Zezza write.
Memorial Healthcare System provides out-of-pocket patient cost estimates that incorporate professional fees and costs for laboratory service. Indiana University Health and Bethlehem, Pa.-based St. Luke's University Health offer tools with similar capacities on their websites.
Read the full blog post here.
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