6 steps to price transparency, according to St. Luke's Health System

An inpatient room at St. Luke's new Anderson County Hospital, in Garnett, Kansas

Price transparency was a major topic at this week’s Healthcare Financial Management Association 2015 Annual National Institute, as many healthcare providers, vendors and consultants came with their stories about publishing prices and navigating the pitfalls.

Kansas City’s St. Luke’s Health System has come a long way with transparency. After it lagged in the region for posting prices online, it created a complete system that engages patients through the billing process and has boosted collections while driving patient experience marks higher. Here are St. Luke’s six steps toward price transparency, which were presented Tuesday by the the system’s revenue cycle vice president, Diane Watkins.

1. Centralize the financial clearance process

For St. Luke's, that meant getting the entire C-suite on board to create a system for personalized patient price estimates. Initially it involved the charge audit and customer service staff, but evolved into an automated, real-time service.

2. Provide price estimates in advance

Patients at St. Luke’s will receive calls prior to the service date to discuss estimates and make arrangements for pre-payment. They are generally discussed or shown on screen, but are not printed. It also explains that it is an estimate and could change. Over time, the system saw consistency in given quotes and patients having a better understanding of their financial responsibility. The system issued nearly 40,000 estimates in 2014.

3. Get prepayment for scheduled services

St. Luke’s demands patients for scheduled services pay 25 percent of their estimated patient costs prior to the service for the uninsured or insured patients whose cost would be more than 20 percent of their co-payment. The system will cancel services if that is not received. It will work out a payment plan for patients who need one.

4. Engage the patient early

Point-of-sale collections are a major concern for St. Luke’s, so much that they created a bonus program that rewards employees who collect the most at point-of-sale. Those quarterly bonuses can be as high as $400.

5. Create a financial assistance policy that is easy to apply for and administer

St. Luke’s revised its financial assistance policy to make it clearer for patients and more manageable for staffers to handle. That included making it available online or via phone or
email, as well as in the emergency department. Patients also receive a summary of the financial assistance policy right at admission.

6. Craft a collaborative process focused on customer experience and compliance

Regulations demand a degree of price and financial assistance transparency, but even with the prepayment programs and aggressive point-of-sale collections, St. Luke’s said its patient experience ratings have climbed, as patients appreciate the clear communication about what they owe and when they should pay.

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