Pricing Transparency

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) require all hospitals to publish their charge description master. To offer our patients more information about costs and charges, we share our price transparency master files below. To receive a price estimate tailored to your care and insurance, we recommend the CRMC Price Estimate Tool link below.

The machine-readable master files below are posted in a format designed to allow researchers, regulators and application developers to more easily access and analyze large volumes of data. The file format may be difficult for the average consumer to download and read.

These are comprehensive listings of individual procedures, services and items billable to a hospital patient or a patient’s health insurance provider. It is important to note the files do not reflect what a patient pays, but rather charges before specific variables, like insurance plans, are applied. These files will continue to be updated.

CMS requires all hospitals to share these documents in the format provided here. We want you to be empowered with as much information as possible when making healthcare choices and planning for care – but we want you to understand there are many variables related to your specific care and your insurance coverage that aren’t accounted for here. You may use these documents to become more informed. We also suggest our online Price Estimate Tool or call our Price Estimation Team at 620-252-2295 for our counselor to give you a more personalized estimate for your care, and for you to better understand your individual care costs. These resources consider information more specific to you.

When reviewing a price transparency file, remember:

  • While this document outlines standard base charges, and certain other information, these are not necessarily charges a patient will have to pay.
  • Every patient is unique and actual payment is highly dependent upon a combination of factors.
  • Even for similar procedures at the same facility, what a patient pays may differ based on their insurance plan and other factors.
  • Cost is only one factor consumers should review when making healthcare decisions. Outcomes, quality/safety data and experiences should also be considered.

 

 

 

Price Transparency FAQ

Why is price transparency important?

Healthcare charges can seem quite complex. Understanding the differences between the costs you see and the costs you actually pay can be challenging. We, and CMS, want patients to have information to help understand the costs of care so they can plan accordingly.

How do hospitals decide service costs?

Many factors and variables come together to determine the cost for services. Your specific health insurance coverage is one factor. Our negotiated rates with payers is another, which is included in our price transparency file. Your overall bill for a service, procedure or surgery may contain several different line items, too, such as a cost for the doctor, the facility, anesthesia, imaging, medications, supplies and more. The scenario might not be the same for every patient, as patients’ needs vary.

Where do the prices in the charge description master come from?

We try to provide helpful information while recognizing the charge description master cannot consider your personal specifics. We try to provide an average charge for the given item, service or procedure, or the cost that applies to most patients in the same scenario.

So what’s the bottom line for me?

The price transparency file gives you an approximation of expected costs, but remember, we can’t determine a specific price for you without knowing certain information specific to you, such as your health insurance carrier and plan. That’s why we encourage you to use the Price Transparency .txt file as a resource in conjunction with our Price Estimate Tool and/or a call to our financial counseling team Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at 620-252-1549.