What is Louisiana Hospital Inform?
Louisiana Hospital Inform is a
consumer-friendly website that provides useful
quality and pricing information on Louisiana
hospitals to serve as a factual starting point
for more informed discussion with your hospital,
physician or insurance company. |
Why would I need this information? How is it
useful to me?
This information is useful to provide facts
about hospitals when you need healthcare
services, if you are new to the area or if you are choosing a
new healthcare plan. Louisiana Hospital
Inform provides:
- Pricing data on the 100 most common
inpatient and outpatient services
- Quality data on surgical infections,
30-day mortality and
the most common causes of hospitalization:
heart attack, congestive heart failure and
pneumonia
-
Patient satisfaction survey information from Hospital CAHPS® (beginning April 2008)
- Demographic information, services
offered and contact numbers for hospitals
|
Where did this information and data come
from?
All the data on this website was collected by
the American Hospital Directory, an independent
source, and was not modified in any way. |
Where does the individual hospital data come
from?
The pricing information comes from MedPAR data,
Medicare cost reports and Louisiana Health Information Network (LHIN) data. The quality
information comes from Hospital Quality Alliance
data, which is also located on the Hospital
Compare website at
www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov. |
What is MedPAR data?
MedPAR data, which is short for Medicare
Provider Analysis and Review, is information
abstracted from the UB04 billings for Medicare. Thus, the
only population represented in the data is the
Medicare population. (A UB04 is a common
claim form used by a hospital to bill for
services provided to a patient.) |
What is a Medicare cost report?
The Medicare Cost Report (MCR) is an annual
report required of all institutions
participating in the Medicare program. The MCR
records each institution's total costs and
charges associated with providing services to
all patients, the portion of those costs and
charges allocated to Medicare patients, and the
Medicare payments received. |
What is LHIN data?
The Louisiana Health Information Network (LHIN)
is a statewide, all payer data sharing program.
This data is collected for both inpatient and
ambulatory surgery patients. Each participating
hospital provides a complete UB04 data set for all inpatients.
|
What is Hospital CAHPS®?
The intent of the CAHPS® Hospital Survey, also
known as Hospital CAHPS® or HCAHPS, is to introduce
a standardized survey instrument and data collection
methodology for measuring and publicly reporting patients'
perspectives of hospital care. While many hospitals
collect information on patient satisfaction, until the
HCAHPS initiative there has been no national standard
for collecting or publicly reporting information that
would allow valid comparisons to be made across hospitals.
|
Why do some hospitals reports contain partial
or no data?
Currently, approximately 100 hospitals participate in the LHIN program. For those hospitals, all payer data is provided for the 100 most common inpatient services.
For the hospitals that do not participate in the LHIN program, Medicare cost report and MedPAR data for the 100 most common inpatient and outpatient services is used. Because of this, hospitals that see limited number of Medicare patients may have incomplete data.
|
What if I don't know the meaning of a term
used on this website?
Visit the definitions
page on this website. |
What if I can't find my hospital?
First check to make sure you spelled the name of
the facility correctly. If you did and the
hospital still did not show up, try broadening
your search by parish or region. |
What is the Hospital's Charge Range? Is this how much I will pay?
Because there are so many variables that factor
into the cost of a particular service and every
patient represents a unique case, charge ranges
are displayed to provide a reasonable estimate
on what it might cost for a particular service.
The charge range is a summary of average charges
for patients based on actual billing
information during a recent twelve month period.
Average hospital charges for a DRG or APC are
reported as well as the "Higher" and "Lower"
ends of the range representing about 68% of all
patients. (Statistically, this is referred to as
+/- one standard deviation from the mean.) These ranges are provided for
comparison purposes only.
It will be noted on the reports whether LHIN or Medicare data was used.
Always remember that
the charge for your services will be based on
individual circumstances surrounding your
treatment, your insurance deductibles and
co-pays, and your ability to pay. For specific
information on your cost estimate, please
contact your healthcare provider and/or
insurance company directly. |
What if I have insurance?
Commercial insurers usually do not pay hospital
charges. They negotiate discounts with hospitals
on behalf of the patients they represent. These
negotiated discounts vary amongst commercial
insurers. Furthermore, numerous factors, such as
the type of plan, the co-pay amount, the
co-insurance amount, deductible, out-of-pocket
maximums and other limitations will affect the
individual's financial responsibility to a
hospital. Therefore, it is crucial that you
begin by talking to your insurance company to
understand all of the factors affecting your
financial responsibility. |
What if I have Medicaid?
Medicaid does not pay hospital charges, but pays
hospitals in accordance with a set fee schedule
that represents a significant discount from
hospital billed charges. Generally, Medicaid
recipients are not responsible for any portion
of the bill. For more information about the
Medicaid program, please contact your local
Medicaid or the Louisiana Department of Health
and Hospitals (DHH) at 1-888-544-7996 or TYY
1-800-220-5404, or visit the
DHH website. |
What if I have Medicare?
Medicare does not pay hospital charges. Medicare
has a set fee schedule that represents a
discount from hospitals' billed charges.
Medicare will pay for many of your healthcare
expenses, but not all of them. There are also
special rules on when Medicare pays your bills
that apply if you have employer group health
insurance coverage through your own job or the
employment of a spouse.
The best information
on the Medicare Program is the Medicare
Handbook. This booklet explains how the Medicare
program works and what your benefits are. To
order a free copy, write to: Health Care
Financing Administration, Publications,
N1-26-27, 7500 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD
21244-1850. You can also contact your local
Social Security office for information. The
Medicare information created specifically for
Louisiana citizens can be accessed on the
internet at
www.lamedicare.com/bene/custinfo.html. |
What if I do not have insurance?
For patients who do not have insurance,
hospitals typically have financial assistance
programs for patients who qualify. Contact your
hospital to determine if you qualify for any
programs they may offer. |
What is Medicaid?
Medicaid is a joint federal and state program
that helps with medical costs for some people
with low incomes and limited resources. |
What is Medicare?
Medicare is a health insurance program for
people age 65 or older or under 65 years of age
with certain disabilities, or End-Stage Renal
Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring
dialysis or a kidney transplant). |
What is the difference between an inpatient
and outpatient procedure?
An inpatient procedure requires a patient who is
admitted to a hospital for treatment to stay at
least one night, and an outpatient procedure
allows the patient to go home the same day he or
she was treated. |
