Craneware Supports Hospitals' Compliance and Upfront Collections with Accurate...( Craneware's Patient Charge Estimator(...),Health

Craneware's Patient Charge Estimator(TM) Gives Patients Visibility into Treatment Costs before Receiving Services

ATLANTA, May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- In today's economy, with the high number of uninsured and underinsured Americans, increasingly high deductibles and co-payments, plus growth in consumer-driven health plans, such as Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) -- more patients are responsible for their own healthcare costs. As a result, hospitals seek better ways to provide visibility into treatment costs prior to service. Setting patients' expectations in advance on procedures and costs helps hospitals improve patient satisfaction, increase upfront collections, and reduce bad debt, which enables them to better serve their communities.

Families USA, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans, estimates that 86.7 million Americans were uninsured for some period of time between 2007 and 2008. And, according to America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), another 8 million Americans are now covered by HSA-eligible insurance plans. These sources indicate a dramatic increase in the number of consumers responsible for their own healthcare service selection and payment.

Both federal and state governments are broadly recognizing the issue. On May 5, 2009, the U.S. Congress introduced the Health Care Transparency Promotion Act of 2009, a bipartisan bill that directs states to establish laws requiring disclosure of information on hospital charges. It also would require hospitals and health plans to make information on hospital charges available to the public, and to provide individuals with information about estimated out-of-pocket costs for healthcare services. Currently, 37 state le
'/>"/>