Hospital Prices, Part II

By Jan Greene

In our continuing quest to advance healthcare transparency, I'm seeking out websites that reveal actual prices that hospitals (and other healthcare providers) charge for their services. Nothing is ever that simple, of course; the bottom line for a hospital stay or other service is going to depend on your health plan (if you have one), the specifics of your care (a given service can vary quite a bit by the time all is said and done) and the phase of the moon. Well, maybe not that last thing. It's true, though, that a clerk in the billing office of a hospital may indeed have trouble telling you exactly what it will cost to have a baby or and MRI in their facility because there are so many variables. But if you're paying the bill, you have to start somewhere.

Some individual hospitals, hospital associations, states and others maintain lists online where you can look up this information. Many will be limited to the most common procedures and some may refer only to their specific area or facility. Once again, though, you gotta start somewhere.

Here are some sites to try:

Minnesota Hospital Association

Medicare Consumer Initiative

New Hampshire Price Point

Texas Price Point

Oregon Price Point

Wisconsin Price Point