Becker's Hospital Review

19 CFO / FINANCE How IU Health sets its systemwide price estimator tool apart By Kelly Gooch I ndianapolis-based Indiana Universi- ty Health had one primary goal when it launched a price estimator tool in 2015: greater cost transparency for patients. Initially, the 16-hospital nonprofit system launched the tool on a small scale. Patients in the Indianapolis market could receive an out-of- pocket cost estimate for radiology procedures. "We built a service in which we had a few people who could quote quickly … so we spent time building the platform out and then scaling up over time and getting used to how difficult it would be [to provide the cost esti- mate], how much time it would take us," said IU Health Senior Vice President and CFO Jennifer Alvey. ree years later, the service is available at all of the system's facilities, including its physi- cian offices, for any procedure or service. IU Health's financial navigators, scheduling and registration employees, and centralized esti- mates team work one-on-one with patients to provide them with cost estimates prior to their procedure or service. Ms. Alvey said their navigators can also help patients deter- mine if they qualify for Medicaid coverage and help eligible people enroll. Patients can request price quotes via email, phone or the health system's online patient portal. "It's about individualized care. We will reach out to the physician and make sure we're cap- turing everything, and there's a good hand- off between front end and registration and scheduling," said Ms. Alvey. "It's all managed by the system patient access team, so coordi- nation works well." What makes the tool different? While many health systems offer price esti- mator tools, IU Health believes their service stands out because of the scope of the estimate provided. e estimate includes all costs asso- ciated with the procedure/service, including the anesthesiologist, lab costs and radiology costs, rather than solely costs associated with the facility. "A lot of systems have physicians separate from [the] facility side, or you may get multi- ple bills. What we try to do is put it all on one bill. Also, because we have all those services in the system, we can quote one price. We know what we are going to bill you as long as every- thing goes as expected from the clinical side," Ms. Alvey said. IU Health also accesses tools that cover the patient benefit status for the overwhelming majority of payers in the market so the system can see how much a patient owes against their deductible or co-insurance. erefore, Ms. Alvey said patients receive a quote not only for the total price of the procedure or service, but also for their out-of-pocket cost estimate. "is is part of IU Health's strategy to respond to a growing consumer preference for more transparent healthcare pricing and personal- ized care," Ms. Alvey said. "It's very much about making sure each patient knows what they're getting when they come to IU Health. We try to design our services and our care for them, and then we want to be transparent about what that is going to cost them personally so they're not surprised at the end of the day when they receive their bill. So we view it as full, complete care, including their financial health as well." Patients' response Last year alone, IU Health provided 30,000 cost estimates to patients. e system is able to re- spond to more than 85 percent of estimate re- quests the same day and more than 95 percent within the second day of an estimate request. Ms. Alvey said some requests are more com- plex, so a couple days are needed to ensure the estimate is correct. Overall, though, patients have reacted positively. "A lot of the feedback is that it's all-inclusive. ey like [that] we're putting the physician part in there too, and the radiology piece as well," she said. Next step Moving forward, IU Health aims to ask pa- tients automatically at the time of scheduling whether they would like price quotes. "We're not quite there yet, but that is our jour- ney to even more transparency," said Ms. Al- vey. "We do plan to get there." n HCA sees quarterly profit nearly double to $1.1B By Ayla Ellison N ashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, which operates 178 hospitals, saw revenues and net income rise year over year in the first quarter of 2018. Here are five things to know about HCA's financial performance. 1. HCA saw revenues increase 7.5 percent year over year to $11.4 billion in the first quarter of 2018. 2. The revenue growth was partially attributable to higher patient volumes. HCA saw same-facility admissions and emergency room visits increase 1.8 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, year over year. 3. HCA recorded operating expenses of $9.3 billion in the first quarter of 2018, up from $8.6 billion in the same period of 2017. 4. HCA ended the first quarter of 2018 with net income of $1.1 billion, up 73.6 percent from $659 million in the first quarter of last year. The company's finan- cial results included gains on sales of facilities of $405 million and a tax benefit of $92 million. 5. During the first quarter, HCA completed the acquisition of Memorial Health in Savannah, Ga., and completed the divestiture of Oklahoma facilities. HCA also signed a letter of intent in March to acquire Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health. "We are excited to move forward with our due diligence and exclusive discussion with this outstanding organization," HCA Chairman and CEO R. Mil- ton Johnson said on an earnings call May 1. "I believe we are well positioned for growth as we continue to invest capital in large growing markets, execute our growth agenda, and deliver high quality care for our patients." n

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