The Froedtert Health Office of Clinical Research
and Innovative Care Compliance (OCRICC)
Research Pricing FY2015
Effective July 1, 2014, Froedtert is transitioning to a new model for pricing hospital services for research. This change demonstrates our continued commitment to support the research mission of Froedtert and The Medical College of Wisconsin.
Policy Changes:
· All patient care services that have an established Medicare rate will be priced at the Medicare rate.
· All patient care services that do not have an established Medicare rate will be priced at 60% off of the total charge as defined in the applicable hospital Chargemaster.
· All existing research projects will be moved to the new model for pricing unless the project has been granted a commitment for a better rate prior to this date.
FAQ’s
1. Why is Froedtert changing the discounting methodology for hospital services?
The data from the last 12 months identified that the majority of services requested are either one time requests and/or have not been on the research chargemaster. There are very few items that are requested repeatedly or routinely. As a result, the research chargemaster impacts very few studies. Froedtert wanted to develop a methodology that could be applied to all requests and would provide the best opportunity for the best price to every study.
2. What Medicare rate will OCRICC use for pricing:
OCRICC will price services using the Medicare Fiscal Year 2014 rates published in April until June 30, 2015.
3. How will the annual price increase be addressed?
Price increases will be effective on July 1 every year. Just like in previous years, we recommend that researchers plan for this by including a 5% inflator for all services, for every year the study will be open. This is the safest way to make sure that as Medicare adjusts their rates, or Froedtert increases its pricing, the study does not have a shortfall.
Note: The only exception to a price increase will be if a study has received an approval for an additional discount.
4. When will the new rates be applied to existing studies?
OCRICC will not be updating the pricing prospectively for every study currently enrolling. OCRICC will issue an updated pricing worksheet with the invoice for any study services performed after July 1, 2014.
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