Two Massachusetts hospital systems will begin offering discounts off "list prices" for uninsured patients, according to the Boston Globe. The systems are Partners HealthCare and UMass Memorial Health Care. The article noted that most hospitals do not routinely give such patients discounts. These two hospitals' policies are "among the first formal, publicized policies in Massachusetts that guarantee discounts to a broad group of patients and don't depend on patients requesting a markdown," according to the Globe.
Not emphasized in this article was how high "list prices" are at most hospitals. For example, see previous posts here, here and here.
This actions by Partners and UMass are a great first step, but the article does underline who widespread the practice of charging uninsured patients full freight has become. Susan Sherry, of Community Catalyst, asserted that many hospitals are either not offering discounts or are keeping them secret (see the report by the Access Project here). She did applaud the actions by Partners and UMass, "this is kind of out there in terms of national leadership. They're doing much more than hospitals in other parts of the country."
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