Missouri Hospital Association's consumer website adds pricing data
The Missouri Hospital Association’s consumer-focused website, Focus on Hospitals, now offers pricing data for participating Missouri hospitals.
The launch of pricing data is concurrent with a complete revision of Missouri’s hospital quality transparency program, according to the organization. The quality reporting aspect of the site is designed to provide Missouri consumers with the most current and relevant data available on hospitals’ work to prevent infections, manage readmissions and reduce harm.
“Healthcare consumers want to understand the value of the care they receive,” said Herb B. Kuhn, MHA President and CEO. “The new Focus on Hospitals website provides price and quality data together on a single website. This will allow consumers to research hospitals prior to discussing treatment options with their caregiver.”
The Focus on Hospitals homepage provides a short video to help consumers understand how to use the site and why the data are important. The site includes three separate datasets—hospital pricing, quality of care and community investment. Consumers can select a hospital, review the hospital’s price, quality or community investment data, and compare these data against a statewide average and a second hospital.
The prices included on Focus on Hospitals are from hospitals’ standard charges for the top 100 most common inpatient procedures and for emergency care. The prices do not reflect negotiated rates from insurance providers or Medicare or Medicaid fixed payments. Consumers who pay out of pocket can often receive a self-pay discount which also are listed on the site. Missourians without health insurance, or the ability to pay for their care, can apply for additional discounts or charity care through a hospital’s financial assistance program.
Focus on Hospitals also includes the community investment data for 2013, which helps explain hospitals’ contributions to their communities through uncompensated care, absorbing the unpaid costs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, expenses to train the healthcare workforce, free clinic services and donations to local causes.
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Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.