Healthcare costs and transparency: Your hometown healthcare team is here to help you

I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t think that healthcare costs are too high. I bet you haven’t either. Unfortunately, no one has an easy solution, but fortunately, that doesn’t mean that we, as healthcare consumers, and as healthcare providers, can’t do something. As an organization, we aren’t waiting for other people to solve the issue of healthcare costs. In the spirit of true Winonans, for years, we’ve been rolling up our sleeves and finding new ways to do things. In spite of the challenges of how healthcare is financed in the US, as a healthcare provider, our staff is constantly looking at ways to decrease costs while continuously maintaining high quality care and increasing the value of care to each patient and to our community. We’ve been active in transforming healthcare, and we know it’s hard, but we’re making progress. Though our Continuous Systems Improvement approach, we constantly challenge the status quo. From how we can save on supplies, to how we partner with you as a customer to identify options for holding down your expenses. For example, by being proactive with preventive care and screenings, by understanding and seeking the right level of care for specific concerns, or by engaging in pre-visit planning to ensure you and your provider have the right information available at your visit. For several years, we’ve posted prices for some standard categories of care as well as contact information for getting an estimate on planned healthcare procedures. Beginning July 1, a new state law takes effect requiring all hospitals in Minnesota to post the top 25 procedures over $25 on our website and in poster format onsite. This posting must include: the clinic’s charge for the service, the average commercial payment, the Medicare reimbursement rate and the Medical Assistance reimbursement rate. We also understand that you want to know how much something will cost before you agree to it. Like you, each of us is also a patient from time to time and we want to know the same. Here’s where it gets complicated. The issue is that the amount each person is responsible for is dependent on their individual insurance plan. While we have insurance contracts with nearly all insurance plans in use in our region, we do not have information on the specific benefit designs determined by each employer. However, we do have a caring and knowledgeable hometown healthcare team here to answer your questions and help you unravel any mysteries surrounding your healthcare costs. Here are some of the resources available to you:

• Holding down healthcare costs by seeing care in the right location: Your Healthcare Options—Explained
• Information about the Winona Health Foundation Ben & Adith Miller Patient Care Fund.
• Minnesota Hospital Association fact sheet about cost and quality transparency.
• Help with understanding your insurance coverage in our Patient Resource Center (available to all community members no matter where you receive care).
• To talk with someone in our Business Office about an estimate for a specific procedure, call 507.457.7632.

Our mission is always to help ensure you get the care you need. It’s part of our mission and that has not changed since the first day our original hospital began caring for our community 125 years ago.

Rachelle Schultz, EdD President/CEO

Through this digital column, I hope to shine a light on what we’re working on both internally and beyond our walls in collaboration with other community-focused organizations.