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New Hampshire Hospital Association Public Reporting
There are a number of ways in which New Hampshire hospitals are supporting consumer-driven health care, the most recent of which is by providing easy public access to current and valid hospital information.
This year New Hampshire Hospital Association (NHHA) partnered with the Wisconsin Hospital Association to produce New Hampshire PricePoint, a consumer-friendly database of hospital charges, utilization and payer mix.
NHHA member hospitals 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 New Hampshire 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.
New Hampshire PricePoint achieves both access and education. New Hampshire PricePoint provides:
- Aggregate discount and reimbursement information for each hospital. This information allows users to understand how hospitals’ charges compare to the amount of revenue they actually collect for services provided.
- Hospital charge information for all New Hampshire 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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