Hospital Price Transparency

Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital is committed to increased transparency around healthcare costs, including price information for consumers.

Federal regulations require hospitals to share cost information with patients every day. Every patient, and every patient’s needs and complications, is different and requires individual attention.  Our Patient Financial Services (PFS) staff are available to assist with the Patient Liability Estimator, a tool which assists with understanding the services and charges which a patient may expect when they schedule a procedure.  Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital remains committed to ensuring that our pricing strategy for services provided remains compliant, cost-effective, and reasonable.  If you have any questions regarding the fees or charges related to your bill, please contact our Patient Financial Services staff at 906-341-3230.

 Use our Patient Liability Estimator to explore charges

*** The chargemaster is subject to change and may not reflect the current charge amount.

How is patient out-of-pocket cost information shared with patients and families?

• The chargemaster is not a useful tool for consumers who are comparison shopping between hospitals.
• A hospital employs financial counselors, patient advocates and other resources to help our patients understand their unique financial obligations. We encourage patients to reach out and ask detailed financial questions – especially before scheduled services. The hospital’s financial counselors can review options for charity care, payment plans, discounts and more.
• People should not try to determine specific out-of-pocket costs for a particular service based on a chargemaster. If a person has health insurance, they should first turn to their own insurance company for co-pay, coinsurance and deductible information. If uninsured, they should contact the hospital’s financial counselors to discuss their personal treatment needs and get an estimated cost of care.
  • In situations where a patient does not have insurance, patients may be eligible for free or reduced-cost healthcare services through various state public assistance programs like the Healthy Michigan plan, as well as the hospital financial assistance programs. Most hospitals have staff who specialize in helping a patient apply for and enroll in Medicaid programs and the Healthy Michigan Plan. In situations where a patient does not have and is not eligible for any insurance, the hospital has financial assistance policies that apply discounts to the amounts charged. More information on our financial assistance policies can be found at https://scmh.org/financial-assistance-policy/
• Patients are encouraged to use out-of-pocket cost, quality and patient safety information together to make an informed healthcare purchasing decision. Hospital-specific quality and patient safety information is publicly available at www.verifymicare.org.

Hospital costs for patients vary for a number of reasons.

• Every patient’s case is unique and requires varying levels of care and specific caregivers making no two patient experiences, even for the same services, the same.
• The price a patient sees on their hospital bill reflects not just the specific care team who treated them, but also overall operational costs that keep the hospital running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Each hospital’s cost and charge structure vary for a variety of reasons including patient complexity; types of services offered; local labor cost; supply and equipment cost; buildings, utility, and maintenance cost; community service programs offered; and other factors.
• Hospitals provide services to meet individual patient needs 24/7/365, provide free or discounted care to low-income patients, and are paid less than cost for services provide to patients covered by governmental insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Contact Our Hospital for More Information: 

Lisa DesJarden
Director of Revenue Cycle

Phone: 906-341-1876
Email: ldesjarden@scmh.org