St. Charles disputes union’s hospital-price rankings

SEIU Local 49’s Act Now for a Healthy Oregon campaign on Monday released a white paper comparing prices for common procedures at non-profit hospitals in Oregon and listed St. Charles Bend as the ninth-most expensive nonprofit hospital in the state.

But hospital officials took issue with the findings, saying it’s not that simple — and patients don’t pay the full charges.

Based on Inpatient Discharge Data from the Oregon Health Authority, the report found that hospitals charge “wildly different prices” for the same diagnosis, with the most expensive hospitals in Oregon charging patientsthree times as muchas the state’s least expensive hospitals.

“Can you imagine buying a car without knowing what it costs, or which dealer is cheapest, and just waiting for the bill to show up in the mail a few months later to find out how much you owe?” asked Meg Niemi, president of SEIU Local 49.

“That’s basically the world of hospital pricing today , despite the fact that healthcare is one of the most expensive services we buy. Oregonians deserve to know which hospitals charge the most so they can make informed decisions about where they receive care.”

The report found that thetop 10 most expensive hospitalsare located in both urban and rural areas across the state:

1 – Sky Lakes Medical Center, Klamath Falls

2 – Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, Medford

3 – Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, Portland

4 – McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, Springfield

5 – Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, Portland

6 – Mercy Medical Center, Roseburg

7 – Providence Medford Medical Center, Medford

8 – Bay Area Hospital, Coos Bay

9 – St. Charles Medical Center, Bend

10 – Asante Three Rivers Medical Center, Grants Pass

In one dramatic example cited in the report, a patient who receives and appendectomy and stays overnight in the hospital would be charged $30,117 at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield – vs. only $9,055 at Wallowa Memorial Hospital in Enterprise.

The report also found that top price doesn’t mean top quality; in fact, high-price hospitals actually performed worse in 30-day readmissions and postsurgical deaths than low-price hospitals.

“The average hospital revenue per patient has increased by almost 50 percent over the past five years, but higher prices don’t mean better care,” said Niemi. “It’s time to bring transparency to hospital pricing so consumers know what they’re getting for their money.”

The hospital released a statement from its chief financial officer responding to the union’s findings.

“Hospital charges are complicated – they also are not representative of the actual price paid by the patient for services,” said Jennifer Welander, chief financial officer for St. Charles Health System. “Patients pay a discounted amount from the actual charges, based on our negotiated rates with their insurance provider. We also offer an expansive financial assistance program for patients with or without insurance based on income eligibility guidelines.

“We agree that hospitals need to be more transparent about their pricing and support Senate Bill 900 which would make average prices paid for common procedures available to the public. Looking at charges alone is not helpful to patients because they so rarely would have to pay the full charge. But having access to the average prices paid would be a beneficial way to make informed decisions about health care services.”

The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems recently launched a new price transparency effort and laid out new policies for help to patients not eligible for Medicaid, as well as continued levels of charity care.

SEIU’s Act Now for a Healthy Oregon campaign said it “is working to achieve the goal of keeping our communities healthy by achieving the Triple Aim: improving quality, enhancing access, and increasing affordability of care. “

SEIU is the largest health care union in the country, with 2.1 million health care workers. In Oregon and SW Washington, SEIU represents 15,000 health care providers across the continuum of care and is the second largest purchaser of healthcare in the state.