METHODS: All hospitals websites were queried for gross, cash, and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee prices for 8 high-frequency laboratory tests in 2 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-mandated pricing sources: (1) a machine-readable file of all available services and (2) a consumer-friendly display of 300 shoppable services. Barriers, including click counts, data availability, and intrahospital price discrepancies, were noted.
RESULTS: Of the 145 Tennessee hospitals assessed, 97.2% were noncompliant with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services final rule. Subanalysis of available machine-readable files, price estimators, and shoppable services files demonstrated 49.6%, 95.1%, and 78.6% noncompliance, respectively. Barriers to pricing information included requiring protected health information (55.9%), missing at least 1 pricing source (7.6%), having no pricing sources available (6.2%), and involving more than 3 clicks to access the cash price in machine-readable files (54.1%) and price estimators (68.6%.) Average intrahospital discrepancy for basic metabolic panel cash prices across pricing sources was $101.30 (range, $0-1012.40).
CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed high levels of noncompliance with price transparency laws, inconsistent and inaccessible pricing, and continued challenges facing patients in Tennessee.
方法:所有医院网站都被查询为cash,田纳西州的BlueCrossBlueShield在2个医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心规定的定价来源中为8项高频实验室测试定价:(1)所有可用服务的机器可读文件,以及(2)对消费者友好的300个可购物服务显示。屏障,包括点击计数,数据可用性,和医院内价格差异,被注意到。
结果:在田纳西州评估的145家医院中,97.2%的人不符合医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心的最终规定。对可用的机器可读文件进行子分析,价格估算器,购物服务文件显示49.6%,95.1%,78.6%的违规行为,分别。定价信息的障碍包括需要受保护的健康信息(55.9%),缺少至少1个定价来源(7.6%),没有可用的定价来源(6.2%),并涉及超过3次点击以机器可读文件(54.1%)和价格估算器(68.6%。)不同定价来源的基础代谢小组现金价格的平均医院内差异为101.30美元(范围,0-1012.40美元)。
结论:我们的研究表明,高度不遵守价格透明度法律,不一致和不可访问的定价,以及田纳西州患者面临的持续挑战。