
There’s a new surgery price comparison tool from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that allows buyers to compare surgery prices for their own practical benefit.
This tool compares the price of common surgical procedures, Medicare payments, Medicare allowable amount and the patient portion (co-payments) that are performed in hospital outpatient departments, and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).
Compare Procedure Price Here….
This tool also displays national averages for the amount Medicare pays the hospital or ambulatory surgical center as well as the national average co-payment amount for a beneficiary with no Medicare supplemental insurance to pay the provider.
Let’s imagine that a Medicare patient needs his or her kneecap repaired. The surgeon offers the choice to have the surgery in the hospital outpatient department, or at an out-of-hospital surgery center (also known as an ambulatory surgery center). With this tool, the patient can see an average estimate of the difference in out-of-pocket costs between the two centers as shown in the table below:
Knee Cap Repair Cost Comparison
Average Medicare Pays | Average Total Cost | Average patient pays out of pocket | |
Ambulatory Surgery Centers | $2177 | $2721 | $544 |
Hospital Outpatient Departments | $4485 | $5606 | $1121 |
So what’s the difference? Ambulatory Surgery Centers and Hospital Outpatient Departments are basically the same. The difference is one costs twice as much as the other! You can save a lot of money just by knowing where to go.
At ZeaMed, we work to empower patients. If you can know ahead of time how much your costs will be, you can make a decision that is best for you, especially if you have a high deductible plan or no insurance at all.
Check: Price Transparency 2020 – The Cost comparison of Healthcare Providers in the USA