A community hospital in the Syracuse area has taken an impressive first step towards price transparency in order to help its patients be better prepared for the cost of care. Crouse Hospital has listed the prices for more than 300 inpatient and outpatient medical procedures on its website, taking much of the mystery out of the final hospital charges.
However, Crouse does explain that the listed prices include only the hospital charges, and makes it clear the physician charges are billed separately.
"Healthcare today can be confusing and complicated," Kelli Harris, the hospital's chief financial officer, told Syracuse.com. "At Crouse, we try to make it as easy as possible to navigate the healthcare system, and that includes being transparent and informing our patients and our community about the cost of medical services we provide."
Although the New York Health Department website currently lists the median costs for many conditions on its own website, the move by Crouse can give a more accurate idea of actual charges, as they can vary widely from facility to facility.
Theoretically, the availability of the pricing information will also allow those preparing for a procedure to "shop around" and look at other facilities to see who delivers the right mix of cost benefits and quality care.
With more and more health insurance subscribers entering plans that contain high deductibles, it is becoming increasingly difficult for patients to determine out-of-pockets before seeking treatment. This can result in issues for health insurance claims management professionals, who are responsible for ensuring the facility has adequate cash flow to continue providing quality patient care.
If your facility is currently facing issues with healthcare insurance claims management as a result of patients being unprepared for the billing amount, it could be time to outsource receivable management to Professional Medical Services.