Want to know how much your hospital is going to charge for that knee surgery?
U.S. hospitals are now required to post list prices for medical services online, under federal rules meant to help patients find affordable care and avoid hefty surprise bills. The spreadsheets, often thousands of lines long, will leave many patients overwhelmed. Procedures are described in medical jargon and abbreviations. That’s if you can find the lists.
“The information is not user-friendly,” says AARP’s David Certner.
WHAT IS POSTED ONLINE
Most hospitals list standard charges which are far above the prices negotiated by insurance companies. But the posted charges for a surgery, for example, don’t include separate things like room rates for overnight stays. They don’t include fees for every doctor involved in a patient’s treatment. And doctors outside a patient’s insurance network could send big bills separately.