Hospital now required to post prices

Alexis Barker
NLJ Reporter
 
Weston County Health Services, as well as hospitals across the country, are now required to post charges in accessible form, a push that CEO Maureen Cadwell believes will increase transparency. A total of 1,067 medications and another 1,260 hospital procedures are listed for the local facility, according to Cadwell. 
“Consumers of healthcare in Wyoming now have easier access to hospital pricing information,” a Jan. 3 Wyoming Hospital Association press release says. “Beginning Jan. 1, 2019 hospitals in Wyoming began posting on their websites a list of standard charges as reflected in their chargemasters. The Wyoming Hospital Association and its member hospitals view this move as a step toward improved price transparency and working with consumers, so they know what their financial responsibility will be before, during and after their healthcare visit.” 
Cadwell added that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “came out and said” that every hospital needs to post their charges in an accessible form for patients. Those lists, according to Cadwell, must include all medication and service prices. 
Cadwell said that the facility’s “gross charges” are listed and will vary depending on insurance coverage and the person’s specific care. 
“It is important to note a patient’s financial responsibility may vary significantly from the posted charges depending on the type of insurance coverage he/she has, whether a service is covered in the plan, whether the provider is in the plan’s network, the plan’s cost sharing requirements, and if the patient is under their deductible,” the press release states. “Uninsured patients will additionally see differences from the posted charges based on the hospital or provider’s offered self-pay discounts and/or sliding fee scales.” 
Cadwell said that the list for Weston County Health Services is full and complete but that more precisions as to the price a particular patient might be charged would require knowledge of the treatment prescribed by the patient’s doctor. 
“Prices could vary based on medications that need to be given during the procedure or vary based on the amount of view on an X-ray. There are a lot of variables that go into the pricing,” Cadwell said. “Although all the charges are out there, it is not going to tell you exactly what the procedure could potentially cost you.” 
She said that when it comes to radiology or lab prices, the cost of other facilities involved in the process will play a role in the total charge. 
“We aren’t the official readers of those radiology images, right now that is Dakota Radiology and they are going to have a set of charges for readings,” Cadwell said. “This is likewise for labs, if something has to be sent out for a pathologist to read or interpret, that could be an additional charge.” 
She noted that a disclaimer on the website is a notice to patients that prices will vary depending on the particulars of the services received. Cadwell said customers can contact Weston County Health Services for help with the pricing process. 
“Like in the past, people can call and we will try to estimate what it could cost them to have a procedure done,” Cadwell said. “It would probably be in a range-type situation and to get down to the exact costs would require the physician’s order of specifically what is done.” 
Prices are dynamic, or ever-changing, she said, although the facility is only required to update the online cost document once a year. WCHS has not yet decided how often it will update its online cost list.
“Come July 1 the prices might be different than the charges posted, and it could change at various times,” Cadwell said. 
A complete list of medication and service charges are available on the Weston County Health Services website and anyone with questions is encouraged to contact the facility’s business office.