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Public Viewing of Hospital Charges


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If uninsured and paid in full, a 20% upfront savings discount will be applied. Those that are insured should have full coverage under your health insurance plan.

I. Purpose.
The requirement for Transparency of Hospital Charges Rule in the Affordable Care Act requires hospitals to make public their standard charges for items and services provided by the hospital. It allows the public to view Marshall Browning Hospital's standard charges in compliance with the Affordable Care Act, Section 2718(e) of the Public Health Service Act. It is intended to promote transparency for patients to understand their potential financial liability for services obtained at our hospital and to allow comparison for similar services across hospitals.

On November 15, 2019 CMS finalized its expanded interpretations of Section 2718 of the Public health Service Act and the final rule requires hospitals to make a list of gross charges, negotiated charges, self- pay rate, and a minimum and maximum negotiated charge for all services in the hospital charge master publicly available in a machine readable format.

However, hospital charge masters are lengthy and complex documents and do not provide information at a level that is easy to understand. Therefore, additional information, as outlined below, will be provided to patients seeking price estimates, or to contact the business office at 618-542-1025 to request an individualized quote/estimate.

To view our machine-readable standard charges, click here.

To view our shoppable services, click here.

For questions, please contact Patient Accounts at 618-542-2146, ext. 1362.

II. Definitions. Charges are based on what type of care was provided and can differ from patient to patient for the same service depending on any complications or different treatment provided due to the patient's health. Therefore, actual charges for a specific patient will differ from the listed standard charges.

III. Estimates/Financial Assistance. Many patients that will seek hospital charge information are interested in knowing what their out-of-pocket financial responsibility will be. This is an opportunity to have important conversations regarding finances. Those with health insurance can be directed to contact their health plan for specific financial obligations. Those without health insurance should be provided information related to the hospital's financial assistance policy, the Hospital Uninsured Patient Discount Act and any other discounts (e.g. prompt pay) that could be applied. Marshall Browning Hospital has a financial assistance program whereby uninsured and insured patients may qualify for discounted services based on household income as compared to the Federal Poverty Level. Those without health insurance may also qualify for discounts under the Illinois Hospital Uninsured Patient Discount Act and any other discounts.

Price estimates are not a quote or a guarantee of what the charges will be for a specific patient's care. This charge information generally does not include the professional services provided by a physician, surgeon, radiologist, anesthesiologist/certified registered nurse anesthetist, pathologist, advanced practice nurse, physician assistant or other independent contractors.

Patients will receive separate bills for the independent physicians and other professionals who provided treatment. These physicians may not be participating providers in the same insurance plans and networks as the hospital. As such, there may be greater patient financial responsibility for these services which are not under contract with the health plan.

Requests for specific price estimates should be directed to the Patient Accounts department for further assistance at 618-542-1025.

IV. Handout Provided. The nationally based Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) developed the HFMA's Understanding healthcare Prices: "A Consumer's Guide" to aid patient understanding of hospital charges. Consumer Guide to Healthcare Prices

Hospital Standard Charges

These charges represent the standard charges for diagnosis-related groups. The charge is for care without complications. Actual charges may be different for specific patients due to medical condition, length of time spent in surgery or recovery, necessary specific equipment, supplies or medication, complications requiring unanticipated procedures or other treatment ordered by the physician.

If a patient has health insurance, significant discounts have already been obtained by the insurance company and the patient only needs to pay the deductible, copay and/or coinsurance. Patients should contact their health plan directly for their specific financial obligations that aren't reimbursed by insurance.

If a patient does not have health insurance, significant discounts are available that could result in either the care being free or at a greatly reduced price.

Contacting the Patient Accounts department (618-542-1025) can help determine which discounts can be applied.

Information is not a quote or a guarantee of what the charges will be for a specific patient's care.

Charge information does not include the professional services provided by a physician, surgeon, radiologist, anesthesiologist, pathologist, advanced practice nurse or other independent practitioners.

Patients will likely receive separate bills for the physicians and other professionals who provided treatment. These physicians may not be participating providers in the same insurance plans and networks as the hospital. As such, there may be greater patient financial responsibility for these services which are not under contract with the health plan.

Quality Care

An important component for choosing a health care provider is determining quality of care. Information pertaining to the hospital's quality metrics can be obtained at HospitalCompare.com. Your doctor can be a helpful resource in choosing where to obtain care. Further Medicare hospital-specific quality outcome measures are located on at www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare.com.

A helpful document for further information regarding hospital prices is the Healthcare Financial Management Association's Understanding Healthcare Prices: A Consumer Guide.

To compare hospital median charges for nearly 50 major diagnoses, quality and patient satisfaction metrics in Illinois, go to the Illinois Hospital Report Card website at www.healthcarereportcard.illinois.gov.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How much will I actually have to pay out of my pocket?

Patient pays:
For insured patients, health plans such as Medicare, Medicaid, workers' compensation, commercial health insurance, etc. do not pay charges. Instead, they pay a set price that has been predetermined or negotiated in advance. The patient only pays the out-of-pocket amounts set by the health plan. Therefore, a patient with health insurance needs to pay the deductible, copay and/or coinsurance set by their health plan.

The financial obligations could differ depending on whether the hospital or physicians are "out-of-network," meaning the health plan does not have a contract with them. Contact your insurance company to understand what your financial obligations will be.

A patient without health insurance may discuss financial assistance options available that could include either a complete write-off or a substantial reduction of the charges in accordance with the Illinois Hospital Uninsured Patient Discount Act and the hospital's financial assistance program.

Please contact the Hospital's Patient Accounts department to obtain further information about the discounts available or to assist you in understanding your health care bill. You may contact Patient Accounts at 618-542-1025.

2. What do the following health insurance terms mean?

Deductible means the amount the patient needs to pay for health care services before the health plan begins to pay. The deductible may not apply to all services.

Copay means a fixed amount (for example, $20) the patient pays for a covered health care service, such as a physician office visit or prescription.

Coinsurance means the percentage the patient pays for a covered health service (for example, 20% of the bill). This is based on the allowed amount for the service. You pay coinsurance plus any deductibles you owe.

A patient's specific health care plan coverage, including the deductible, copay and coinsurance, varies depending on what plan the patient has. Health plans also have differing networks of hospitals, physicians and other providers that the plan has contracted with. Patients need to contact their health plan for this specific information.

3. What is the difference between charges, cost and price?

Total Charge is the amount set before any discounts. Hospitals are required by the federal government to utilize uniform charges as the starting point for all bills.

The charges are based on what type of care was provided and can differ from patient to patient for similar services, depending on any complications or different treatment provided due to the patient's health.

Cost - For a hospital, it is the total expense incurred to provide the health care. Hospitals have higher costs to provide care than freestanding or retail providers, even for the same type of service. This is because a hospital is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and needs to have everything necessary available to cover any and all emergencies. Non-hospital health care providers can choose when to be available and typically would not provide services that would result in losses. A hospital's cost of services can vary depending on additional factors such as:

Types of services it provides since many vital services are provided at a loss such as emergency room and others;

Providing community screenings and education programs

Number of patients with significant illnesses and payment doesn't cover treatment costs

Patients who are on public assistance which pays less than the cost of care provided

Uninsured patients who are unable to pay toward the cost of their care

Total Price is the amount actually paid to a hospital. Hospitals are paid by health plans and/or patients, but the total amount paid is significantly less than the starting charges.

Medicare pays hospitals much less than the hospital charge and typically less than their total costs.

Medicaid reimbursement is even lower and significantly below actual cost

Commercial insurers negotiate discounts with hospitals on behalf of their enrollees and pay hospitals at varying discount levels, but much less than starting charges.

Patients may also qualify for discounted services based on household income as compared to the Federal Poverty Level. Please visit the Patient Financial Assistance section of the hospital website at www.marshallbrowninghospital.com or inquire about the financial assistance program at 618-542-1025.

4. How can I use this hospital charge information for comparing prices?

Charge information is not necessarily useful for consumers who are "comparison shopping" between hospitals because the descriptions for a particular service could vary from hospital to hospital and what is included in that description. It is difficult to try to independently compare the charges for a procedure at one facility versus another. An actual procedure is comprised of numerous components from several different departments - room and board, laboratory, other diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, therapies, etc.

A patient who has the specific insurance codes for services requested, available from their physician, can better gauge charge estimates across hospitals. Ask your physician to provide the technical name of the procedure that has been recommended as well as the specific ICD and CPT codes for service.

5. How can I get an estimate for a specific procedure?

If you need an estimate for a specific procedure or operation, please contact the Patient Accounts department at 618-542-1025.

Such estimate will be an average charge for the procedure without complications. A physician or physicians make the determination regarding specific care needed based on considerations using the patient's diagnosis, general health condition and many other factors. For example, one individual may require only a one-day hospital stay for a particular procedure, while another may require a two-day stay for the same procedure due to underlying medical condition.

Rather, the patient with health insurance will only pay the specified deductible, copay and coinsurance amounts established by their health plan. A patient without health insurance or sufficient financial resources may be eligible for significant discounts from charges. Please contact the Patient Accounts department for further information.

Patient Accounts: 618-542-1025
Email: businessoffice@mbhdq.com


Disclaimer

Persons accessing and utilizing this information should understand that this information is updated at least annually. The following will apply:

Pricing is subject to change throughout the year.
Services may be added or deleted through the year; and,
Supplies may be added or deleted throughout the year.
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