August 28, 2017–El Camino Hospital announced today the launch of a new price estimator tool on its website for community members to obtain out-of-pocket cost estimates for a variety of medical procedures and services. Estimates for more than 80 procedures and services are based on real-time insurance benefit information at the time of query and are available online 24/7.
“Consumers want information to make good decisions about their healthcare, and we are pleased to launch a new price estimator tool for our community,” said Iftikhar Hussain, Chief Financial Officer of El Camino Hospital. “El Camino Hospital takes a personalized approach to care and our team has deployed an online tool to provide a customized cost estimate at the convenience of the user, 24 hours a day from their home or on the go. Armed with this information, patients are able to better understand and predict their out-of-pocket cost of treatment prior to undergoing certain procedures or receiving services.”
Contact information and service hours for scheduling staff, financial counselors and customer service are also available when using the tool. Financial counselors can provide estimates for complex procedures. In addition, insurance carriers accepted at El Camino Hospital are identified and updated regularly, as well as service-related frequently asked questions. Patients may also choose to pay their bill using this secure online tool.
“Transparency in healthcare quality and costs is imperative and we will continue to work towards making the information available and easy to understand,” said Hussain. “We are very proud of our services, staff, quality of care and pricing structure and want community members to have access to that information to make informed decisions. We expect to continue adding new procedures and services to the price estimator tool over time.”
The price estimator tool has simple descriptions of the procedures so the patient can select services without knowing the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. The projected out-of-pocket cost is a good faith estimate based on the real-time information provided at the time of the query and may differ from the patient’s final bill based on changes to care at the time the service is rendered, treatment or services the patient’s doctor determined are necessary and other information provided by the patient’s insurance carrier. Patients who identify themselves as not having insurance will receive an out-of-pocket cost estimate that reflects the hospital’s discounts for uninsured patients.
