Today, PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA) announced the New York City Hospital Price Finder Tool, empowering all who are treated in New York City hospitals with free access to all available prices so they can compare, prevent overcharges, and have recourse for surprise bills. Patients, employers, unions, and researchers in New York City are now able to search all posted prices by hospital, procedure, plan, and code at NYCHospitalPrices.org.
“The New York City Hospital Price Finder Tool is a huge step for New York City healthcare consumers, who have long suffered from hidden healthcare prices, kept secret by hospitals and insurers alike,” said Cynthia Fisher, Founder and Chairman of PRA. “This tool will enable patients to easily compare actual prices, including discounted cash rates, and choose the best care at a price they can afford. Now, patients will have financial certainty as well as safeguards when their bill doesn’t match the price, to protect them from overcharges.”
In December 2022, New York City Council Member Julie Menin sponsored Intro. 844-A to establish the nation’s first Office of Health Care Accountability to equip New Yorkers with the upfront pricing information needed for healthcare decisions. In June 2023, the legislation passed unanimously and was signed into law.
“New Yorkers will no longer live in fear that medical care will put them in financial ruin. Following our work to establish the Office of Health Care Accountability, this tool is the next step to provide New Yorkers with the resources needed to find the highest quality of care at the best price,” said New York City Council Member Julie Menin. “Now, patients can easily research ahead of medical decisions with peace of mind that New York City will enforce price transparency to safeguard their physical and financial well-being.”
For many patients, this tool would have made an enormous difference. The Singh family of New York City is speaking out on the value of this service.
“With upfront and real prices, we would have been able to make an informed decision on how best to proceed with our son’s treatments to best help his physical health and our family’s financial health. If we had been able to compare in advance, we would have been willing to drive a little further, or perhaps even had a better option nearby, to avoid the tremendous debt that has burdened our family throughout an incredibly vulnerable time,” said Shameeza Singh. “We hope this tool will be a powerful resource for every patient in New York City so that devastating medical debt stories are no more and families can instead fully focus on treatment and recovery.”
The first of its kind in New York City, PRA recently introduced a similar tool in Colorado and has plans to continue expanding resources for patients across the country.
“Healthcare price transparency will deliver high quality care at lower costs for patients, but that starts with easy access to prices. The New York City Hospital Price Finder will allow New Yorkers to quickly compare healthcare prices across the city,” said Manny Pastreich, President of 32BJ SEIU. “We need real transparency and accountability to make informed decisions and lower costs, and this resource is a strong step in that direction.”
View more photos here. View Council Member Menin’s remarks here.
PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA) is a leading national healthcare price transparency organization dedicated to ushering in systemwide transparency through advocacy, testimony, media, legal research, and grassroots campaigns. PRA believes that the availability and visibility of actual, upfront healthcare prices will greatly lower costs for patients and employers through a functional, competitive healthcare marketplace.
SOURCE Patient Rights Advocate