Query: How can I use this hospital charge information to compare prices?
Context: Charge information is not necessarily useful if you are “comparison shopping” between hospitals because the descriptions for a particular service could vary from hospital to hospital and what is included in that description. It is difficult to try to independently compare the charges for a procedure at one facility versus another. An actual procedure is comprised of numerous components from several different departments room and board, laboratory, other diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, therapies, etc.
If you have the specific insurance codes for services requested, available from your physician, you can better gauge charge estimates across hospitals. Ask your physician to provide the technical name of the procedure that has been recommended as well as the specific ICD and CPT codes for service.