Research Tools: New Online Database From Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Releases Shows Cost Differences for Certain Surgical Procedures
From the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) [has] launched a new online tool that allows consumers to compare Medicare payments and copayments for certain procedures that are performed in both hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers.
The Procedure Price Lookup tool displays national averages for the amount Medicare pays the hospital or ambulatory surgical center and the national average copayment amount a beneficiary with no Medicare supplemental insurance would pay the provider.
“Price transparency in health care is a priority for the Trump Administration. Working with their clinicians, the Procedure Price Lookup will help patients with Medicare consider potential cost differences when choosing where to have a medical procedure that best meets their needs,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
The Procedure Price Lookup tool is launching as required by Congress in the 21stCentury Cures Act. Medicare’s statutes require that CMS maintain separate payment systems for different types of healthcare providers, meaning both CMS and patients may pay different amounts for the same service, depending on the site of care.
Read the Complete Launch Announcement
Direct to Procedure Price Lookup Database
Filed under: News
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.