FEATURE


our program, when patients pay up- front, there is no financial risk as there are never additional charges.”


Be Transparent


Post your ASC’s surgery prices online BY ROBERT KURTZ


N


orthwest ENT Surgery Center in Woodstock, Georgia, started observing a trend around 2011–2012, says Shatul Parikh, MD, otolaryngolo- gist and medical director of the ASC. “There was a change in the tide of the insurance market,” he says. “The Affordable Care Act marketplace and employers started offering higher deductible plans. When patients had a $250 or $500 deductible, surgery was affordable, regardless of the type of procedure. Then deductibles started to rise sharply.” Soon, surgeries that once cost patients a few hundred dollars started costing several thousand dollars, he says. “This put substantial pressure on patients to choose whether to undergo a much-needed procedure. We real- ized we needed to provide a cost-effec- tive way for someone to have a surgery


they need that significantly affects their quality of life.”


In 2013, Northwest ENT Surgery


Center began publishing cash prices for select procedures on its website, www.nwentsurgerycenter.com. This “all-inclusive cash surgery pricing,” as the ASC describes it, covers the cost of the surgeon, anesthesiologist, facility, equipment, laboratory ser- vices, office procedures and diagnos- tic procedures. Fast forward to 2018, and the ASC


now lists prices for more than 30 pro- cedures online. About 15 percent of the ASC’s annual revenue is derived from the self-pay program, Parikh says. “Patients have embraced the offering. They know the amount they will need to pay for their entire surgical experience. Going to the hospital for surgery can be unnerving for patients as they may not know what bills they will receive. With


14 ASC FOCUS JUNE/JULY 2018 |www.ascfocus.org


Growing Trend Like Northwest ENT Surgery Center, Pacific Surgical Center in Longview, Washington, posts its cash- pay prices online. The ASC began publishing prices on its website, www.pacificsurgicalwa.com, in October 2017, listing about 70 procedures. “Currently, patients either have no insurance or high-deductible medi- cal plans that can create a barrier to obtaining surgery,” says Michele Peterson, RN, the ASC’s adminis- trator. “A decision to have surgery is much easier when you know how much it will truly cost. Publishing our prices helps patients and employers be fiscally responsible with their health care dollars.” Covered in the published price: the


ASC’s facility fee, surgeon’s fee, anes- thesiologist’s fee and, if the patient is a candidate for surgery, a surgical consultation fee. Prices represent dis- counted rates for cash-pay patients. “We also wanted to provide this ser- vice to include patients who may not otherwise be able to afford surgery,” Peterson says.


Although the program is young, the ASC has completed several cash-pay cases, with patients from Washington, Oregon and Idaho taking advantage of the offering.


Also still in its infancy is the cash-pay program at Seaside Surgery Center in Naples, Florida, partner of SurgCenter Development. Launched in the fourth quarter in 2017, the ASC currently lists prices for four procedures on its website, www.seasidesurgery center.com: knee arthroscopy, partial knee replacement, total hip replacement and total knee replacement. Included in the pricing is the ASC’s facility fee, sur- geon fee, anesthesiologist fee, surgical assistant fee, implants and/or prosthesis and any uncomplicated follow-up care.


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