Telephone price queries on out-of-pocket prices in three markets found that hospitals were four times more costly than ASCs for the same procedure it took three times as many calls to hospitals than ASCs to get an answer to a pricing question.
ASCs are “smaller, more efficient, and in many cases, better organized to answer these questions,” according to the healthcare consumer organization’s paper, which surveyed providers in the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Denver and Portland, Ore.
Accessing pricing information. Eighteen percent of hospitals wouldn’t return calls or answer the phone and many required patients to leave messages for staff who usually took several days to call back. In contrast, 100 percent of ASCs had personnel to answer pricing questions and provide a price quote and it took only one or two phone transfers in many cases to get the information.
Getting transparent information. Eighteen percent of hospitals wouldn’t disclose pricing, but most ASCs provided pricing information on the same day of the request. None of the hospitals would give specific prices and would only offer price ranges.
Obtaining a binding price estimate. While 29 percent of hospitals provided a binding cost estimate, 100 percent of ASCs did so. When asked the reason for estimates instead of firm prices, some hospitals said there was no way to know until the patient was on the operating table.
Getting a specific price. Many hospitals offered price ranges that could vary by up to 100 percent from the low to the high end. Hospitals rarely explained the costs of a surgery, whom to contact to get a complete price or that there were multiple prices associated with a surgery.
Obtaining a discount. Seventy-nine percent of hospitals offered cash-paying patients discounts regardless of financial status, but 21 percent require patients to demonstrate “financial need” in order to qualify for a discount. In contrast, 100 percent of ASCs offered discounts to patients regardless of financial status.
Finding the best value. On average, hospitals were four times more costly than ASCs for the same procedure. While prices varied significantly between facilities and between markets, ASCs were consistently less expensive than hospitals for out-patient surgery.
Read the Healthcare Bluebook’s report Surgery Pricing Secrets: The Challenges Patients Face (pdf).
