Hospital wants to save patients $7M after slashing imaging pay rates by 70%
One Colorado-based hospital is hoping to save its patients millions of dollars in 2020 by slashing the price of some imaging exams as much as 73%.
St. Mary’s Medical Center said this week that its customers could save upward of $7 million after the Grand Junction institution drastically slashed rates for MRIs, CT scans and ultrasound. Officials said they were able to pass along savings to patients after a successful cost-cutting initiative last year saved $12 million through process efficiencies and reductions in drug prescriptions.
The institution had previously tried to pass along savings by lowering prices covered by payers, however, those companies ended up eating any gains, hospital President Bryan Johnson told the Daily Sentinel. Instead, they’re dropping the amount that would count against a deductible before insurance gets involved.
“We’ve done price savings in the past and reduced rates to insurance companies, and those haven’t translated,” Johnson said. “Now we’re looking to give something back to consumers.”
Beginning Jan. 1, the price for an MRI exam at St. Mary’s nearby imaging center plummeted 73%, down to $800 from $3,000. CT scans also dipped about 70% from $2,000 to about $600. And ultrasounds similarly dipped to $400 from $1,300 in 2019. Director of Imaging Services Lori Chabot tells the newspaper she’s received “dozens of calls” from local radiologists, looking to confirm these new rates. Officials insist the change is not to drive volume at the imaging center, though they’ve seen a big increase in appointments and are adding additional weekend hours to accommodate.
The rate drop only applies at the imaging center and not the hospital itself, officials added. Chabot noted that it’s had the added benefit of scaring away any radiologist rivals in the market.
“I’m super excited. It’s going to keep competition out,” she told the newspaper.
Read more in the Daily Sentinel.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.