The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires hospitals to make a list of standard hospital charges public via the Internet. CMS defines "standard charge" to mean the regular rate established by the hospital for an item or service provided to a specific group of paying patients.

The information in these files is updated at least annually and complies with CMS requirements for machine-readable files. To meet these requirements, these files include multiple charging components.

Below is an explanation of what each section and component represents to help you better understand the information contained in the file:

• Payer Disclaimer - In the absence of payment rates by plan type (HMO vs PPO), unless otherwise noted, please assume all plans are contracted under the same payer specific negotiated charge.

• Gross Charge - This section presents the standard gross charge for items and services.

• Inpatient De-identified Negotiated Charge - This section presents the de-identified minimum and maximum charge for items, services, and service packages that occur in the inpatient setting.

• Inpatient Payer Specific Charge - This section presents the payer specific negotiated charge for items, services, and service packages that occur in the inpatient setting.

• Outpatient De-identified Negotiated Charge - This section presents the de-identified minimum and maximum charge for items, services, and service packages that occur in the outpatient setting.

• Outpatient Payer Specific Charge - This section presents the payer specific negotiated charge for items, services, and service packages that occur in the outpatient setting.

As pricing may change periodically, patients are encouraged to contact UW Revenue Integrity at riteam@uw.edu for the most current pricing information.