CRHS Financial Assistance and Standard Charges

At Columbus Regional Healthcare System, we are committed to providing quality health care to all who seek our services. We realize that health care is costly and may be a financial hardship to patients and their families.

Eligibility for Medicaid or other Government Assistance

Columbus Regional Healthcare System provides counselors who can assist you with determining Medicaid eligibility and applying for other government-assisted programs. Our counselors are available upon request throughout or following the time you receive care.

Eligibility for Charity Care

Columbus Regional Healthcare System offers charity care to our patients who are unable to pay due to financial hardships. We may require supporting documents including tax returns, pay stubs, Social Security award letter and other financial information. Patients will qualify for 100% assistance based on the following key criteria:

• Income up to 200% of the federal poverty guidelines based on family size
• The services received are not cosmetic or other elective procedures

Catastrophic Assistance

Patients who do not qualify for Charity Care and have incurred catastrophic medical care bills with qualified balances and income over 200% of the federal poverty guideline are eligible for a catastrophic discount.

List of Standard Charges

Columbus Regional Healthcare System is committed to empowering patients, in partnership with their care team, to make informed decisions about their healthcare. This includes helping patients understand the cost of their care, as well as financial assistance that may be available.

In compliance with federal law, Columbus Regional Healthcare System provides a list of standard charges. As part of the FY 2019 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System rulemaking, CMS updated its guidelines to require hospitals to post a list of their current standard charges via the internet in a machine-readable format.  This information must be updated at least annually.

The list charge of a hospital service is not equivalent to the actual amount paid by governmental or commercial insurance companies; accordingly, each patient’s financial responsibility may vary. The amount a patient pays is based on many factors, including health insurance, benefit plans and other applicable discounts, and the services provided based on each patient’s unique needs.

Columbus Regional reviews our hospital charges annually to ensure they accurately reflect the high-quality care we seek to provide. In some cases, our charges are different from other providers when we offer a higher level of care and unique clinical expertise. Overall, Columbus Regional works with patients, providers and partners to lower the cost of care through wellness, disease management and quality care.

Disclaimer

• I understand that the List of Standard Charges represents inpatient and outpatient hospital services that may be provided in the facilities listed at the top of this page.
• I understand that the List of Standard Charges includes hospital services only and does not contain professional fees for either Columbus Regional  or non-Columbus Regional physicians or other advanced practitioners.
• I understand that a single line item charge may not represent a complete medical service; in general, multiple charge line items are necessary to represent all components of a service (e.g. procedure(s), supplies, and drugs).
• I understand the charge list posted on this website may not fully reflect the most current charge items or charge amounts, since additions and changes are frequently made to the listing.
• I understand that the List of Standard Charges is not intended for media use.
• I understand that Columbus Regional provides price estimates for many common hospital services, and that I may call 910-642-1753  Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to speak with a patient financial services representative (after first consulting with my ordering physician to obtain the applicable procedure code) to obtain a service-specific price estimate based on my individual circumstances and patient responsibility.
• Please read the List of Standard Charges Disclaimer

I do not accept (return to the Columbus homepage)

Procedure Price Estimator

Resources for Consumers

Columbus Regional Average Charges by MS-DRG are available here:
Columbus Regional DRG Avg Chgs by Facility FY2016

The NC Division of Health Service Regulation requires that all NC hospitals report charging and payment information for the Top 100 Inpatient DRGs, Top 20 Outpatient Surgical Procedures and Top 20 Outpatient Imaging Procedures:

https://www2.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/ahc/hb834/

https://www2.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/ahc/hb834/search.asp

The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), in collaboration with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), provides resources to assist healthcare consumers understand healthcare prices as well as avoid surprise medical bills:

https://www.hfma.org/consumerguide/

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provides the following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) documents as a resource for further clarification of the requirements:

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/AcuteInpatientPPS/Downloads/FAQs-Req-Hospital-Public-List-Standard-Charges.pdf

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/ProspMedicareFeeSvcPmtGen/Downloads/Additional-Frequently-Asked-Questions-Regarding-Requirements-for-Hospitals-To-Make-Public-a-List-of-Their-Standard-Charges-via-the-Internet.pdf

Contact Us

For more information regarding financial assistance or for a complete copy of the CRHS Charity Care Policy, please contact us at 910-642-1744.

Billing and Collections Policy	Facturación y Cobros
Plain Language Summary	Resumen en lenguaje sencillo
Financial Assistance Policy	Ayuda Financiera
Financial Assistance Info
Hospital Hardship Settlement Policy	Política del Acuerdo durante Dificultades Financieras

To contact our customer service representative please call (910) 642-1744.