Transparent pricing: Way of the future for surgery centers

Editor's Note

The Monticello Community Surgery Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, is posting prices of outpatient procedures on its website, the July 22 CBS 19 reports. The center’s CEO Andy Poole calls it the “wave of the future of healthcare.”

Though the center takes insurance and Medicare, knowing the total cost of a surgical procedure is important for those who have to pay out-of-pocket or who have high deductibles. The center can charge less than larger hospitals because it has less overhead.

For surgery pricing, visitors go to the center’s website (http://monticellosurgery.com/pricing/) and click on a area of the body where a procedure is needed. This will give them not only the price but a specialist they can contact.

For many patients, the first clue about how much a medical treatment costs is when the bills arrive. The Monticello Community Surgery Center is working to change that paradigm by posting prices of various outpatient procedures prominently on its website.