Requiring Hospitals To Post Prices For Consumers Sounds Good, But Implementing It Would Be A Bit Complicated
Simply publishing inflated retail prices, as listed on a hospital's chargemaster, won't be helpful to most patients, experts say. And legal professionals say that CMS might even lack the authority to require hospitals to post the charges at all.
Modern Healthcare:
CMS Proposal For Hospitals To Publish Prices Raises Tricky Issues
Patients with high-deductible plans increasingly were asking St. Clair Hospital in Pittsburgh to tell them in advance how much their care would cost them out of pocket. So two years ago, the independent community hospital worked with Experian to start providing individualized cost estimates for 135 common procedures through an online tool. Hospital Chief Financial Officer Richard Chesnos claims the estimates are nearly 100% accurate. (Meyer, 4/25)
Politico Pro:
Legal Barriers Await Medicare’s Price Transparency Work
CMS may lack the legal authority to force providers to release the most useful information on health care prices, legal and policy experts say, despite the agency's signaling, in regulations released Tuesday, its desire to make hospital charges more transparent. Hospitals would have to post standard charges on the internet and make it easier for third parties to access and aggregate the data under CMS' proposal. (Pittman, 4/25)
And in other hospital news —
Modern Healthcare:
Humana Makes Improving Quality Central To New Hospital Reimbursement Program
Humana on Wednesday unveiled a program to reimburse hospitals for improvement on quality measures related to patient safety, experience and outcomes. The Hospital Incentive Program, which went into effect in January, is Humana's first value-based model that focuses exclusively on hospitals' inpatient admissions. Humana's other value-based programs like the total joint replacement episode-of-care model focus on primary or specialty care. "This is a natural extension of our other value-based models that are already out there," said Ben Lunsford, vice president of value-based strategies at Humana. (Castellucci, 4/25)
Kaiser Health News:
Hospitals Lure Diabetes Patients With Self-Care Courses, But Costs Can Weigh Heavily
When a routine physical revealed mildly elevated blood-sugar levels, Michael Phillips was strongly encouraged to sign up for a diabetes self-management class. Phillips never asked about the cost of the two half-day sessions he attended in a conference room at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens, Ga., and doesn’t recall the instructor mentioning it. But the 64-year-old retired bank analyst was flabbergasted when he opened his bill after attending. (Appleby, 4/26)
Kansas City Star:
KU Hospital To Buy Great Bend Regional, Expand Health System
KU Health officials said in a news release they signed a letter of intent to purchase the operations of Great Bend Regional Hospital and its affiliated clinics. They declined to provide details about the agreement, which is expected to be finalized this summer. (Marso, 4/25)
