Midlands Orthopaedics & Neurosurgery announces Price Transparency Policy

Even while Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Hospital Price Transparency Rule is being challenged in federal court, Columbia’s own Midlands Orthopaedics & Neurosurgery (MidOrthoNeuro) is embracing price transparency without a federal mandate. Recognizing the mounting consumer frustration over “surprise” healthcare bills, MidOrthoNeuro offers bundled payment options for those without an in-network insurance plan who are seeking to pay directly for their care. Bundles benefit self-pay patients, self-insured employers, patients with out-of-network insurance coverage, health sharing ministries and anyone who bears the out-of-pocket expense for their services. Office-based bundles include a physical exam, x-rays and treatment plan. Injections, cast, MRI and therapy bundles are also available. Fifty-four surgical bundles always include the surgeon’s fee, anesthesia fee and ASC facility fee; many of them also include the cost of implants. CEO Ann Margaret McCraw explains, “Healthcare is perhaps the only service industry that perpetuates opaque pricing models that seem intentionally designed to confuse consumers. We want to change that.”

As a privately owned physician-practice with an affiliated freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC), MidOrthoNeuro is able to offer a wide range of musculoskeletal services at much lower cost than large hospital-based programs.

An overall infection rate less than 0.3%, compared to the 2-4% inpatient surgery infection rate cited by Patient Safety Network, speaks to the high quality of this lower cost care. This year, MidOrthoNeuro’s Outpatient Surgery Program was recognized as a Validation Institute Health Value Awards Gold Winner. Most recently the practice was voted the Best Orthopaedic Practice in Columbia by both the Free Times and The State Newspaper readership; and the ASC was ranked #1 in SC by Newsweek’s America’s Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers 2021.