Hospital Pricing Transparency
A detailed list of inpatient and outpatient services or items provided by a hospital.
Hospital Pricing & Chargemasters
Effective January 1, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) required hospitals to make their chargemasters available online. A chargemaster is a master listing of all items that a hospital may charge or use while providing various healthcare services. The chargemasters available on our website are for all Wellstar hospitals. The chargemaster is updated frequently.
What you need to know
Chargemasters for Wellstar Health System hospitals are available on this page as required by CMS, but may not be exactly what you are looking for.
The chargemaster details inpatient and outpatient services or items provided by a hospital. This listing includes thousands of entries which cover each test, exam, surgical procedure, room charge and more that a patient may receive during hospital care.
Chargemaster information is not particularly helpful for patients, because:
- You have different insurance coverage. Not every patient has the same coverage. This means they will be billed in accordance with contracted rates between the hospital and insurance company, Medicare or Medicaid, which are often lower than the fees listed on the Chargemaster.
- What your insurance plan requires of you is different than other patients. Each patient’s share of what they need to pay based on their own insurance policy is different (for example, a patient may be expected to pay 10% or 20% of their insurance company’s contracted hospital costs). There are also different deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.
- Each patient’s treatment is different. While two patients may need similar treatments, total care may differ depending on various factors like length of recovery, complications, other health conditions that may affect treatment, medications required, and more.
- Services by providers aren’t included. While the chargemaster includes hospital services, it does not include charges for services provided by health providers such as personal physicians, surgeons, anesthesiologists, radiologists or lab testing. These are billed for separately from the hospital.
More detailed information about chargemasters is available below. For patients who are uninsured, underinsured or experiencing financial hardship due to a catastrophic medical event, learn more about our financial assistance program.
How to get a more accurate picture
To learn more about estimated expenses to expect from an upcoming procedure, please contact your insurance company, Medicare or Medicaid.
Shoppable Services
If you would like more information about the chargemaster, what your care will cost you or the hospital’s financial assistance policy, Wellstar has several consumer-friendly options available to assist you.
HMO Pricing for More Common Health Plans
For Wellstar Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone, Paulding, North Fulton, Spalding Regional, Sylvan Grove, West Georgia Medical Center and Windy Hill Hospitals
[Consumer Version][Machine Readable Version]
Standard Charges
Beginning on January 1, 2021 hospitals are required to maintain and make public a list of their standard charges for the services they provide. It is important to note that standard charges do not reflect or represent the actual out-of-pocket cost a patient pays for these services. To best determine your actual out-of-pocket cost, please see the section below on Price Estimates.
- 58-0968382_Wellstar-Cobb-Hospital_StandardCharges
- 58-2026750_Wellstar-Douglas-Hospital_StandardCharges
- 58-2032904_Wellstar-Kennestone-Regional Medical Center_StandardCharges
- 81-0851756_Wellstar-North-Fulton-Medical Center_StandardCharges
- 58-2095884_Wellstar-Paulding-Medical Center_StandardCharges
- 81-0864789_Wellstar-Spalding-Medical Center_StandardCharges
- 81-0875069_Wellstar-Sylvan-Grove-Medical Center_StandardCharges
- 20-5497506_Wellstar-West-Georgia-Medical-Center_StandardCharges
- 58-2032904_Wellstar-Windy-Hill-Medical Center_StandardCharges
Price Estimates
Wellstar offers hospital price estimates for insured and non-insured patients. Such estimates are designed to help in understanding what to expect financially before receiving services. The estimate provided is based on many factors including anticipated service specific charges, historical averages, and information received from the patient’s insurance company, when available. Wellstar understands that medical care is not always a defined course of treatment for every patient and there is a need to rely on one’s physician(s) to ensure tailored care for specific healthcare needs. Just as no two patients are the same, Wellstar uses the best information available in advance of services being provided to estimate costs in advance of care actually being provided. The final bill, however, may be significantly different from the hospital price estimate provided, and Wellstar is not liable for any discrepancies between the estimate and the price of the actual, individualized care provided. Further, the estimate does not include associated professional fees, like fees for costs of anesthesiologists, pathologists, and radiologists.
For assistance with hospital pricing estimates, please contact our Price Estimation Specialists at (470) 245-9998 or, visit MyChart and select, "Get an Estimate", or use our contact form. The information contained in Wellstar estimates is intended for informational purposes only and does not represent any obligation or agreement.
Please consult with your insurance provider to understand your insurance coverage, which charges will be covered, how much you will be billed, information on deductibles and your expected out-of-pocket responsibility.