HCA posts hospital prices online

HCA has decided to roll with the transparency trend. Over the next few months the hospital chain will begin making prices for its services publicly available, starting with hospitals in Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, Texas. HCA expects to start disclosing prices in Tennessee over the next few months, and should roll out the program to all of its 165 U.S. hospitals by this summer. Prospective patients will be able to check out prices for common procedures by following a link on the hospital's website. The sites will also give insured patients instructions on how to get a price estimate. (Given how much managed care contracts differ, the hospitals won't be able to offer a pre-packaged answer on what an insured's care will cost.) While HCA seems to be ahead of the curve in posting prices across its entire network, other hospitals are increasingly providing price quotes when asked, observers note.

To get up to date on HCA's plans:
- read this piece from The Tennessean

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