
Chargemaster amounts are almost never billed to a patient or received as payment by a hospital. The Chargemaster amounts are billed to an insurance company, Medicare, or Medicaid, and those insurers then apply their contracted rates to the services that are billed. In situations where a patient does not have insurance, our hospital has financial assistance policies that apply discounts to the amounts charged. More information on our financial assistance policies can be found here.
Health insurance companies contract with hospitals to care for their customers. Hospitals are paid the insurance company’s contract rate, which generally is significantly less than the amount listed on the Chargemaster. The insurance company’s contract rate, not the Chargemaster, is the basis for determining the patient’s actual out of pocket costs. As an example, a hospital may charge $1,000 for a particular service, while the insurer’s contract rate may be $700. If the patient’s insurance plan indicates the patient is responsible for 20 percent of the contract rate, the patient would owe $140 ($700 x 20 percent).
If you do not have health insurance, you may be eligible for reduced costs under the hospital’s financial assistance policy, or you may be eligible for Medicaid coverage.
Here is a partial list of health care providers who may bill you separately:
Please consult with your insurance provider to understand your insurance coverage, which charges will be covered, how much you will be billed, information on deductibles, and your expected out-of-pocket responsibility.
A consumer guide to avoiding surprise medical bills jointly prepared by the American Hospital Association, Healthcare Financial Management Association and America’s Health Insurance Plans is also a good resource.
Researching medical costs can be complicated. At Anderson Regional Health System, we're making it easier by offering two unique tools to help you get an accurate estimate of your out-of-pocket expenses for a variety of procedures and services. Whether you have insurance or not, you can get a customized estimate for your care at Anderson Regional Health System.
Our new Patient Cost Estimator is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-compliant calculating tool that uses our electronic medical records database to give you an estimate of your out-of-pocket costs based on your location, procedure or service, and your specific insurance plan. The Patient Cost Estimator provides costs for a select range of outpatient or inpatient procedures to allow you to compare our costs to other facilities.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the nation’s major healthcare programs including Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP, and the state and federal health insurance marketplaces. The agency aims to provide a healthcare system with better care, access to coverage, and improved health. To further that mission, starting January 1, 2021, each hospital operating in the United States is required to provide clear, accessible pricing information online about the procedures and services they provide in two formats:
Our new Patient Cost Estimator helps us meet the first requirement of presenting our patients with a consumer-friendly format to compare prices across hospitals and estimate their out of pocket cost before going to the hospital.
This file may not represent all services offered by the provider; if you
are unable to find a specific service, please call us at 601-553-6850.
1. Codes not listed or listed without an allowable could be considered
non-reimbursable based on individual payer payment methodology.
2. Procedure based codes could be based upon Operating Room time, which varies based on the operative session. Operating Room Major or Minor will be billed for initial first hour with additional 15 minute increments if required.
Click Here To View Our Patient Cost Estimator
Disclaimer: Estimates created by Patient Cost Estimator are not guaranteed, and may change due to a number of other factors.
A hospital "charge" is not the same as "expected payment." "Charge" is the amount billed for a service. In the vast majority of cases, hospitals are paid considerably less than the billed amount. Because each person's case is different based on that patient's medical condition, a given patient's charge will not necessarily be the same as the average or median charge. Furthermore, the actual amount paid by a patient will depend on that patient's insurance coverage.