Phoebe Health System posts prices; Hospital Authority reviews balance sheet

Feb. 23-- Feb. 23--ALBANY -- Officials with Phoebe Putney Health System outlined at a meeting of the Hospital Authority of Albany-Dougherty County this week what they are doing to comply with a new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services policy concerning price transparency.

An overview was also given of the most recent balance sheet for the Hospital Authority.

Effective Jan. 1, hospitals are required to post standard charges as reflected in a charge description master, or chargemaster, offering a comprehensive listing of items billable to a hospital patient or a health insurance provider.

Brian Church, the chief financial officer for the health system, noted that the prices of a hospital's chargemaster are usually not reflective of actual costs or reimbursements -- and chargemaster list prices serve as a starting point for hospital negotiations with private insurers, and for determining costs for patients who are uninsured or out-of-network.

For instance, patients who have met their deductible will bear different cost-sharing responsibilities than patients who have not. In other words, the chief financial officer told the Hospital Authority, posting the charges is unlikely to help patients determine how much they need to pay for their care.

"I don't think it will add much in terms of transparency," Church said.

He also said care has been taken to make sure gross charges do not go too high, and that Phoebe officials look at the prices of peer hospitals to help them determine costs.

"We are extremely competitive compared (to our peer hospitals)," Church said.

Church also presented to the authority the balance sheet current as of Jan. 31. It showed that the board had a total of $101,541 in assets. There was a total operating revenue of $7,000, and a total of $11,320 in operating expenses.

Information on pricing estimates for Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Phoebe Sumter Medical Center and Phoebe Worth Medical Center is available at www.phoebehealth.com/patients-and-visitors/bill-pay-financial-assistance/financial-assistance/price-estimates.

Church also gave the Hospital Authority an overview of the Fiscal Year 2018 audited financial statements for Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, which was recently approved by the hospital's board of directors and posted at www.phoebehealth.com/about-us/about-us-financials.

___

(c)2019 The Albany Herald, Ga.

Visit The Albany Herald, Ga. at www.albanyherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.