Most hospitals have a listing of charges for all services and procedures that a hospital offers. The federal government now requires hospitals to post their charges online.
We also are required to display standard charges for specific groupings of Medicare patients who are treated in the hospital. These nationally recognized groups are called MS DRGs. This stands for Medicare-severity, diagnosis-related group. MS DRGs include all the reasons for a hospital stay. They also include the gender, age, location and discharge status of the patient. MS DRGs are used by Medicare and some health insurance companies to determine how much to pay for a hospital stay.
Knowing these charges can help you consider costs and make informed decisions. This may be very helpful if you don’t have insurance or if your plan has a high deductible.
These charges are not the payment amounts usually paid by insurance plans. Hospitals and insurance plans usually negotiate different payment amounts.
An “apples-to-apples” comparison between hospitals is difficult. Many things influence charges. Offering more specialized, complex care can increase costs. Some hospitals have a mission to train new doctors and nurses and to do research. At Vanderbilt University Medical Center, we are committed to providing high-value care for the cost while also fulfilling our mission to train clinicians and advance healthcare.
If you have any questions about our pricing or the value of the care we provide, call (800) 925-0120.