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How much you will pay when you receive your medical treatment is seldom know before the treatment is rendered. Patients need to have information of medical costs so they can compare and shop before a treatment is rendered. 

There are two types of charges.  The list or asking price and the insurance contract price.  Seldom does any one pay the asking price.  It is much like buying a care.  One should barter and for the best results barter before the care is received.  If you do not have insurance may hospitals will give a hefty discount if the bill is paid in full.  Some will match Medicare prices if asked before the service is rendered. 

There are only a few resources for consumers regarding hospital prices and most deal with average revenues received or profitability.   Both are related to charges and facilities with higher revenues and higher profits often but not always charge more.  Profits tend to be hard to judge and the data listed on many websites misleading due to the method of reporting the data.

Learn More About How To Determine Hospital Profits

Avoid the pitfall of looking at hospital revenues and not charges.  You need to know what you will pay NOT average hospital collections.   Revenues are diluted down by Medicaid and Medicare and are not predictive of what other patients will pay.

Kentucky Hospital Charge Information:

Cost to charge ratios are often used to describe a hospital's finances.   A low cost to charge ratio can be caused by excessive charges or lower costs.

The lower the cost to charge ratio, the larger the profit margin on the charges.  As with buying a car this information is useful in negotiating the price that a patient will be charged. 

It is Health Watch USA's opinion that the costs of supplies and pharmaceuticals in most hospitals are similar due to cooperative purchasing organizations.  That one of the few ways a hospital can cut costs is to cut the hospital's staff, a practice which may lower the quality of service. 
  
   Adjusted Cost to Charge Ratios as determined by the Kentucky Dept of Labor -
View Regulations on how the Ratios are Calculated and Adjusted 

• View All Reports and Letters   (Download Reports from Source Website)

• View Letter of Explanation of Ratios

• Download 2008 Report (Alpha)     Download 2008 Report (High to Low)
  

Hospital Charges posted by the Kentucky Hospital Association - View Reports