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July 07, 2006
Health Savings Accounts Push Greater Price Transparency
As high-deductible policies and health savings accounts force patients to take a greater role in directing their health care, insurers and consumer groups are pushing for greater transparency in pricing.
The New York State Health Accountability Foundation unveiled a website with its newest annual report card, which mixes quality data from several sources to rate hospitals and HMOs on a slew of procedures and conditions. It's one of several similar efforts under way around the state.
And this report, available online at www.abouthealthquality.org, does one thing different than most: it tries to lift the veil on prices.
Included among its ratings of how hospitals fare with heart-attack patients or pneumonia cases is data about what hospitals charge for 15 common procedures and what Medicaid reimburses them.
The data also includes the monthly premium rates charged by HMOs across New York.
"Our hope is that, by publicizing this financial information, we start stimulating a dialogue about health care and efficiency," said Dr. Anthony Shih, vice president for quality improvement at IPRO, a health-quality group that compiled the report.
But unlike bread or gas, the price of health care is negotiable. And in most cases, insurers have negotiated much lower rates for hospital care than what's listed.
While price transparency is important, it must be coupled with education, said Angela Skretta-Huck, vice president of the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association.
"This, I think, for the average consumer is going to be very confusing," she said.
The data's use is limited at this point, acknowledged Laurel Pickering, executive director of the New York Business Group on Health. But it's a good start to the conversation and part of a growing trend.
Several states now require hospitals to make their prices public. Some insurers have begun posting the rates they pay. And Medicare recently published its payment rates for 30 major conditions.
"It's never just about quality, and it's never just about cost," Shih said. "The key is finding a balance."
Hospital list prices
When it comes to prices for procedures, local hospitals are all over the map. For example, here are list prices for a Caesarean section birth at hospitals across the mid-Hudson in 2004-05, as filed with the federal government.
Private and public insurers negotiate rates that are often just a fraction of the list price. And most hospitals now discount prices for the uninsured, too. But the rates can give an indication of which facilities are more expensive than others, experts say.
Benedictine Hospital $9,788
Bon Secours Community Hospital $23,135
Catskill Regional Medical Center $4,259
Kingston Hospital $6,250
ORMC - Arden Hill $13,936
ORMC - Horton $14,150
St. Anthony Community Hospital $22,975
St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital - Newburgh $10,188
Price Transparency in healthcare continues to gain momentum. With more tools to arm themselves when making healthcare decisions, health savings account owners will be able to make bette choices.
Learn more about health savings accounts at: http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at July 7, 2006 09:03 AM