Driven by consumerism and the ongoing desire to lower healthcare costs, healthcare pricing transparency is upon us. In fact, as of January 1, 2019 in-patient and long-term care facilities are now required to publish a listing of their standard charges online and update that listing on an annual basis. As a healthcare provider, you may ask yourself how can you best prepare for what lies ahead. Here are a few suggestions to not only help you navigate this bumpy road but also use it to your advantage.
As with most other goods and services we buy, the cost of healthcare should be made known to patients prior to treatment. CMS’s new rule is meant to help patients understand what their financial liability might be for hospital in-patient services so that they can decide when and with whom they receive care based on how much that care will cost. This also helps to minimize sticker-shock after the fact so that there are limited “surprises”. While medical practices are not required to comply with the new hospital rule, healthcare price transparency could help practices compete with local hospitals on this front. …
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