FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VHC Health Named a Best Hospital for Billing Ethics
Billing Quality Is Part of Healthcare Quality
Arlington, VA (February 23, 2023) – VHC Health, a community-based health system providing medical services to the Washington, DC metropolitan area, was named a best hospital for billing ethics by Money magazine and The Leapfrog Group. This is the first-ever Leapfrog Best Hospitals ranking to help patients make educated decisions about which institutions are best for the money.
“There are many factors that impact patients including quality, safe care, a reputation for excellent patient experiences and an ethical approach to treatment,” said Chris Lane, CEO & President, VHC Health. “At VHC Health, we work hard to provide the highest quality care and patient experience, including fair and ethical billing.”
The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit organization that aims to help consumers make informed decisions about their health and to access safe, high-value care. To compile its new list of the best hospitals for ethical billing practices, the Leapfrog hospitals had to first have an "A" or "B" Leapfrog safety grade to qualify for the list.
“Billing quality is part of healthcare quality,” said John Zabrowski, III, CPA, MBA, Chief Financial & Strategy Officer, and Senior Vice President. “VHC Health strives to ensure our process for billing patients adheres to the highest ethical standards. We are honored to receive this ranking together with our 21st consecutive “A” Hospital Safety Grade.”
A hospital must achieve Leapfrog’s standards for Billing Ethics, which include providing every patient with a billing statement and/or master itemized bill with 30 days of final claims adjudication; giving patients instructions for contacting a billing representative who has the authority to review, negotiate, and offer a price adjustment and establish a payment plan, within 5 business days; and not taking legal action against patients for late or insufficient payment.
VHC Health was also recently deemed fully compliant with the federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule by Patient Rights Advocates in its Fourth Semi-Annual Hospital Price Transparency Report. The Patient Rights Advocates most recent review found only 24.5 percent of the nations’ largest health systems to be compliant with all requirements of the federal price transparency rule. To be fully compliant, a health system is required to post all prices online, easily accessible and searchable, in the form of a single machine-readable standard charges file for all items and services for all payers and all plans as well as all discounted cash prices, and display standard charges with actual prices or a price estimator tool for the 300 most common shoppable services.
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About VHC HealthTM:
VHC Health provides exceptional medical services as our region’s community health system. Virginia Hospital Center was recently designated a 2021 Top Teaching Hospital by The Leapfrog Group. In 2022, the Hospital was selected for an 11th consecutive Healthgrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ and a 21st consecutive ‘A’ grade from The Leapfrog Group. Virginia Hospital Center is a 453-bed not-for-profit teaching facility and designated as a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. VHC Health is a proud member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network – a national network of independent healthcare organizations.
