Hospitals' transparency commitment continues with updated cost data for patients
Today, the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems unveiled new, updated price data for common hospital procedures on its OregonHospitalGuide.org website. The new pricing data, based on state reporting, shows the costs for the most common inpatient and outpatient procedures for every hospital in the state, and allows consumers to compare pricing on specific procedures between hospitals.
The Oregon Hospital Guide website enabled Oregon to receive a "B" grade on the influential Report Card on State Price Transparency Laws, developed by the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute (HCI3) and Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR). This moved Oregon up from an "F" from prior years.
"Hospitals are dedicated to the concept that every Oregonian, whether insured, uninsured, or out-of-network should be empowered with the financial information they need to make better health care decisions for themselves and their families," said Andy Davidson, President and CEO of OAHHS. "We hope our communities find value in the new data we have posted this year."
The new data on costs shows the median amount paid by commercial insurers including patient-paid amounts like deductibles and co-pays. The website also shows the statewide median price for each procedure.
On OregonHospitalGuide.org, consumers and patients can find the new data under "procedure costs", searching by hospital. The website is the result of proactive work in 2015 by OAHHS to pass legislation mandating the state produce the procedure cost data from its All Payer All Claims Database.
Other data on OregonHospitalGuide.org includes:
- Contact information and direct links to hospital billing and financial assistance policies;
- Searchable quality of care data reported by the federal government;
- Key indicators in graph form for individual hospitals including operating margins, payer mix, and uncompensated care in percentage and dollars; and
- Key indicators for comparing one or more hospitals including:
- Average length of stay, average daily census, occupancy rate, surgery mix, and FTEs per adjusted occupied bed.
Despite all the tools for comparison and research OregonHospitalGuide.org provides, the best way for patients to make informed health care decisions is still in consultation with their medical professional team.