As you are probably aware, the Price Transparency Final Rule will take effect on 1/1/21. This rule states that hospitals are to establish, update, and make public a list of their Standard Charges for the items and services that they provide. Unfortunately, this is not a straightforward process.
A Standard Charge is:
-
- Gross charge
- Payer-Specific negotiated charge
- De-Identified minimum charge
- De-Identified maximum charge
- Cash discounts
These charges must be made available in both “Consumer-Friendly” and “Comprehensive Machine-Readable” formats (PDF is not an allowable format for the machine readable file) and they must be updated annually. Employed physician charges must also be included.
In addition, you must also include a consumer list of the total cost of a minimum of 300 shoppable services that:
- Include up to 70 proscribed services or service packages (if they are performed)
- Only include if performed at the hospital
- Must include employed physician costs as part of the package cost
We are aware that this may be a daunting task for a rural hospital to complete by January 1. We are here to help and are currently working on the various needs and ways that we can assist you. Please contact us if you would like help with:
- Analysis services to assist in determining a compliant standard charge list.
- Technology services to help implement a compliant technology solution that meets both the Consumer-Shoppable and Machine-Readable requirements.
We know that you are being contacted by various vendors claiming that they can help. We ask that you please reach out to us first so that we can discuss this with you.
Please feel free to contact us below should you have additional questions/comments.
