{"id":968,"date":"2019-08-28T21:09:02","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T21:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysouthwell.com\/?page_id=968"},"modified":"2026-03-24T11:41:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T15:41:35","slug":"chargemaster","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mysouthwell.com\/chargemaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargemaster"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Chargemaster\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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About the Chargemaster\n\n\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The information provided below is a comprehensive list of charges for each inpatient and outpatient service or item provided by a hospital, also known as a chargemaster.\u00a0It is not a helpful tool for patients to comparison shop between hospitals or to estimate what health care services are going to cost them out of their own pocket.<\/em>\u00a0For more information about the cost of your care, please contact our Pre-Service staff at 229-353-7371 or send an email to\u00a0info@mysouthwell.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Our pre-service staff can provide an estimate of your out-of-pocket costs based on the services provided and your insurance plan.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Frequently Asked Questions<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What is a Chargemaster? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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A chargemaster is a comprehensive list of charges for each inpatient and outpatient service or item provided by a hospital \u2013 each test, exam, surgical procedure, room charge, etc. Given the many services provided by hospitals 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a chargemaster contains thousands of services and related charges.<\/p>

Chargemaster amounts are almost never billed to a patient or received as payment by a hospital. The chargemaster amounts are billed to an insurance company, Medicare, or Medicaid, and those insurers then apply their contracted rates to the services that are billed. In situations where a patient does not have insurance, our hospital has financial assistance policies that apply discounts to the amounts charged. More information on our financial assistance policies can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>

Health insurance companies contract with hospitals to care for their customers. Hospitals are paid the insurance company\u2019s contract rate, which generally is significantly less than the amount listed on the chargemaster. The insurance company\u2019s contract rate, not the chargemaster, is the basis for determining the patient\u2019s actual out-of-pocket costs. As an example, a hospital may charge $1,000 for a particular service, while the insurer\u2019s contract rate may be $700. If the patient\u2019s insurance plan indicates the patient is responsible for 20 percent of the contract rate, the patient would owe $140 ($700 x 20 percent).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Are the charges the same for every patient? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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The list of charges is the same for all patients. However, the total charges for an individual patient often vary from one patient to another for a number of reasons, including:<\/p>