Price transparency in Northern California

CMS Requirements

Pricing Transparency CMS required TXT file of standard charges: cms-hpt.txt
 

Hospital charges for all services and items

As of January 1, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires hospitals to publish pricing information online. Kaiser Permanente is committed to maintaining this transparency by sharing the most up-to-date information available.

Hospitals may provide patients with a list of medical descriptions and prices known as a charge master. Each hospital has its own charge master that is used for billing purposes. During a hospital visit, you may receive services, medications, or be furnished with certain medical supplies or devices. These charges are the same for all patients, regardless of insurance coverage.

Note: The charge master and plan rate prices are not the prices that most patients would be expected to pay for care.

For an accurate estimate of your patient financial responsibility, please contact your insurance company. If you are a Kaiser Permanente member, you can get a cost estimate for your health care services by logging into kp.org and navigating to the Coverage & Costs section to access the cost estimation tool.
 

Hospital charges for 300 shoppable services

As of January 1, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires hospitals to publish pricing information online for 300 shoppable services, which are services that can be scheduled in advance by a patient. The prices for some of these services are based on a typical length of stay at the hospital and not based on the individual care that may be required. Therefore, if the care requires additional services, the prices may change. This information does not include the prices for physician services.
 

Hospitals in Northern California