Hospitals must now publish their prices online

All hospitals in the state of California must publish their prices on the internet due to a new rule from the Center for Medicare/Medicaid services, or CMS.

“At St. Joseph Health-Humboldt County, we know that health care can be an unexpected expense and that the cost of health care services can be a deciding factor for many people as they plan for care. St. Joseph Health-Humboldt County supports health care pricing transparency and tools that help patients and consumers evaluate what care is best for them and any related financial costs. In California, we already make our standard charges available to patients.

Hospital charges can help patients understand what the costs might be for certain health care services, however, they don’t provide a full picture of what patients will pay. Price and billing for patients will depend on the full course of treatment and on the type of insurance coverage they have. However if you invest in a private health insurance policy knowing what you pay for and how much, is laid out for you in simple terms, after all our health shouldn’t be second-rate.

We encourage all health care consumers to speak with their providers and their health plan to get a full picture of what they will pay. For our patients, the new lists of charges will add to the existing ways we offer our patients access to pricing information and help them make informed health care decisions. For example, we offer financial counseling for those experiencing hardship at any point throughout their care.”

The hospital would like to note that the pricing data required by CMS does not reflect a patient’s financial liability, as that amount will depend on the full course of treatment and on the type of insurance coverage a patient has.

 

 

 

-Paid Advertisement-