Chargemaster FAQ
What is a chargemaster?
A chargemaster is a comprehensive list of charges for each inpatient and outpatient service provided by a hospital —each test, exam, surgery, procedure, room charge or supply is an item within a hospital's chargemaster.
- Given the broad scope of services provided by hospitals every day, a chargemaster contains thousands of items and services with their associated charges.
- Health insurance companies contract with hospitals to care for their members. Hospitals are paid the insurance company's negotiated rate which, in general, is significantly less than the amount listed on the chargemaster.
- An individual hospital's charges vary based on its unique range of services, adoption of new medical technologies, capital investments and other local factors.
- The insurance company's negotiated rate, not the chargemaster, is the basis for determining the patient's actual out of pocket cost after the satisfaction of a deductible which is the patient's responsibility. As an example, a hospital may charge $4,000 for a particular service. The insurer's negotiated rate with the hospital is $1000. The patient has a deductible of $500 and a co-pay of 20% of the negotiated rate. The patient will owe $700.
MyChart Privacy Policy
Main Line Health's chargemaster does not include services provided by physicians or advanced practice providers, who treat you while you are at the hospital or outpatient setting. You may receive separate bills from the doctors involved in your care.
MyChart is owned and operated by Main Line Health and is fully compliant with federal and state laws pertaining to your privacy. Your name and email address will be treated with the same care and privacy given your health records and will never be sold or leased by Main Line Health. Read the full Privacy Policy.
MyChart security
We take great care to ensure your health information is kept private and secure. Access to information is controlled through secure activation codes, personal usernames and passwords. You control your own password, and the account cannot be accessed without that password.
In addition, MyChart also uses the latest 128-bit SSL encryption technology with no caching to automatically encrypt your session. Unlike conventional email, all MyChart messaging is done while you are securely logged on to our website.