Oregon Price Point
There are a number of ways in which Oregon hospitals are supporting consumer-driven health care, the most recent of which is by providing easy public access to current and valid hospital information.
The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS) partnered with the Wisconsin Hospital Association to produce Oregon PricePoint, a consumer-friendly database of hospital charges, utilization and payer mix. We are also working on a data system for hospital quality and safety that will be added to our public reporting resource programs.
OAHHS member hospitals and health systems feel strongly that understanding how to use this information is just as important as knowing how to access the data. For instance, in most cases, out-of-pocket hospital costs for privately insured patients are determined by their health insurance policies, which have negotiated specific discounts with a hospital or health system. The bill does not reflect the actual hospital costs. However, a growing number of Oregon residents are being covered by so-called consumer-directed health plans, under which the billed charge may factor into the amount that a patient would pay for a specific procedure at the hospital. In order to accurately compare charges from hospital A with hospital B, the consumer needs to understand what the data reflects.
Oregon PricePoint achieves both access and education. Oregon PricePoint provides:
- Aggregate discount information for each hospital for the three major kinds of health care coverage – private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. This information allows users to understand how hospitals’ charges compare to the amount of revenue they actually collect for services provided to the three patient categories.
- Hospital charge information for all Oregon hospitals, all services, and the average length of stay.
Publicly reported hospital charge, quality and safety data may not answer every question, but it should – at a minimum – provide a good and factual starting point for more informed discussion between consumers and insurers or consumers and providers of care.
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