New MC Procedure Price Lookup Tool

[sshafran]

LD is re-defining trolling.

He soooo wants to "ignore," but can't stand it to the point that he logs out for the sole purpose of checking up on the people that he has ignored.

That's special.

 

[Todd King]

Will it be on fire?

Only after it's opened.

 

[MedicareMillionair]

Have fun..... This should keep LD bizy bizy.

Procedure Price Lookup


Medicare beneficiaries can use the Procedure Price Lookup tool to look up the national average that Medicare pays hospitals or ambulatory surgical centers for certain surgeries. The website also can reveal the national average co-payment that a beneficiary with no Medicare supplemental insurance would pay the provider.

The new tool, which the CMS was required to create under the 21st Century Cures Act, will help Medicare patients consider procedure costs at different types of providers, Verma said.

A Medicare beneficiary who needs knee surgery can use the website to find out-of-pocket cost estimates for a local hospital's outpatient department and an independent surgery center.

The CMS is pushing hospitals to be more transparent about patient charges, not just for surgeries. The agency has updated its previous price transparency guideline, drawn from the Affordable Care Act, and will require hospitals to publish a list of standard charges in an online, machine-readable format starting Jan. 1. They must update that charge information, drawn from their retail chargemaster list, at least annually.

Medicare price tool compares surgery costs

I wonder how accurate this tool will be. It would require accurate reporting of data and revisions as well. It is better than no information at all.

Several years back I had arthroscopic knee surgery on an outpatient basis. I specifically asked what my costs would be. They were off by about $1,200. I’m not sure they are capable of being competent.

 

[LostDollar]

I wonder how accurate this tool will be. It would require accurate reporting of data and revisions as well. It is better than no information at all.

Several years back I hadn’t arthroscopic knee surgery on an outpatient basis. I specifically asked what my costs would be. They were off by about $1,200. I’m not sure they are capable of being competent.

Accuracy and completeness are the issues that occurred to me.

I still wonder how accurate a national average will be for a local pricing situation.

And it also sounds like it only includes procedures that might be done both in a hospital and a clinic. A ding against hospitals?

It seems like some kind of information about Medicare charges by state or reasonable and customary charges by state would be more useful to someone trying to gather financial information for a decision.