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OAHHS Public
Reporting
Oregon PricePoint
There are a number of ways in which Oregon hospitals are supporting
consumer-driven health care. One way is by providing easy public access to
current and valid hospital information.
Apprise Health Insights and the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health
Systems (OAHHS) have partnered with the Wisconsin Hospital Association to
produce Oregon PricePoint, a consumer-friendly database of hospital charges,
utilization and payer mix.
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:
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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.
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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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