NORFOLK, Va. - Christine Hanna's story is like so many others. News 3 shared with you how she needed physical therapy and when she got the bill it was 10x more than what she expected.
"When we got the charges, it was what over $1,000?" Hanna said.
From stories like this, the Hospital Price Transparency Rule was born. In short, hospitals are required to post the cost of their services in a way that people can use and understand.
"Price transparency in health care is truly transformative. Why? Because it shifts the power to the consumer," said Cynthia Fisher, Founder and Chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org.
PatientRightsAdvocate.org fights for price transparency in healthcare and lower medical costs.
"If we know the prices of MRIs, and we see what the hospital overcharges, well, one could demand a fair market price, rather than paying thousands of dollars more," Fisher said.
Every six months, the group comes out with a report to see if hospitals are complying. They've been doing this since the federal rule went into effect in January 2021.
"What we found is hospitals are flouting the law," she said. "The Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Becerra have the right to hold these hospitals accountable."
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, if a hospital isn't complying for a full calendar year, they can face a minimum penalty of $109,500 and a maximum penalty of more than $2 million.
So far, data shows the federal government has only fined two hospitals across the country about $1 million for non-compliance, but what's important to you is how our local healthcare systems stack up and share their prices.
News 3's Erin Miller sat down with Stephanie Schnittger, Vice President of Corporate Finance for Sentara Healthcare, to talk about their price estimation tool.
"It was a huge undertaking. The regulations on pricing and transparency, are very complicated, and voluminous," Schnittger said.
Price estimates are available now. Here's how you can check Sentara's website:
- Go to Sentara's homepage
- Select "Pay your Bill"
- Select "Understanding Prices"
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Estimating Hospital Charges"
- You can select any of Sentara's location and follow the prompts with your information
When you follow these instructions, you'll get an estimate, but Schnittger said it's still more accurate to ask your health plan.
"The health plans have a much more comprehensive view of the potential providers, they can go to the physician, that type of ordering patterns, the type of treatment that might occur," she said.
These online systems, Schnittger said, show compliance.
"The spirit of price transparency is something that we should, as an industry embrace," she said.
News 3 shared this information with Hanna so she's more prepared if she needs treatment again.
The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association also developed a hospital price transparency and financial assistance policy tool over the summer that is a compendium of hospital price transparency and financial assistance information for hospitals across Virginia. Click here to access the tool.
Click here for resources on how to fight medical bill overcharges.
