UCHealth statement, August 2019
First, Colorado has an all payer claims database that’s operated by the state. This database
shows the actual reimbursed amounts for various services. A comparison in the database
shows UCHealth’s prices are competitive. Of course, there’s some variation among our
individual facilities, but overall, we’re below the median price for many, if not most, of the
services listed there. We pulled out a comparison of the median price for advanced imaging at
our facilities and compared that to the median price for all other facilities across the state.
Attached is that comparison and where our facilities compare. FYI – Yampa Valley Medical
Center’s prices represent the median price before our recent price reduction. But still – if you
use the all payer claims database to compare YVMC against the prices at other mountain
hospitals – you’ll see they often have the lowest prices.
UCHealth also provides one of the most advanced price estimates tools in the nation. Seema
Verma has mentioned us as an example of how useful price transparency should work.
(See: UCHealth's Revenue Cycle Takes Price Transparency to Next Level; HealthLeaders
Media, or “How much will it really cost?”; AAMC) You’re welcome to go to our website
or YouTube to watch a video on how the price estimates tool works. This makes it easy for
patients to obtain accurate estimates for their actual, out-of-pocket bills.
You’ve been reporting on hospital finances for a while, so I’m sure you know that looking at
charity care – especially in a Medicaid expansion state – doesn’t give an accurate or full look at
a hospital’s total uncompensated care. As uninsured patients in Colorado shifted to Medicaid,
we saw our overall financial losses grow, because Medicaid grew considerably faster than the
drop in uninsured. (In Colorado, Medicaid reimburses just $.69 per dollar of costs.)
Last fiscal year (FY18, because we haven’t finished calculating FY19 yet), UCHealth provided
$859 million in total community benefits including $359 million in uncompensated care. The
$359 million was a significant increase from the $259 million we provided in FY17. A
comparison of schedule H forms shows we provide considerably more community benefits than
the median nonprofit health system. (community benefits made up more than 20% of our
expenses compared to national average of ~13%). Further, the number of Medicaid encounters
we provided last year was a 239% increase since 2013.
I already provided you one example below of us lowering prices. (see hyperlink below about
prices at Yampa Valley Medical Center) We have also provided double-digit discounts in
commercial reimbursement prices at our hospitals in northern Colorado.
UCHealth is focused on operating as efficiently as possible, and we use both operational
innovations and our supply chain purchasing power to decrease overall expenses. Last year,
our cost per adjusted discharge grew far less than the median for hospitals in our state, which
shows our dedication to operating efficiently. UCHealth also has excellent bond ratings, which
helps us further reduce costs. We’re able to return these cost savings back to patients by
reinvesting in our facilities and employees, offering competitive prices, and working with
insurance companies to provide more affordable plans for patients.
Let me know if you have specific questions, and here are a few examples of our efficiency
innovations or price reduction efforts:

 UCHealth, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield partner to improve health care affordability in
northwest Colorado
The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Pathways HMO will offer competitive premiums for
individual and employer-based insurance plans made possible by lower prices at UCHealth
Yampa Valley Medical Center (YVMC) and at UCHealth locations and other facilities on the
Front Range should a patient need to leave the Yampa Valley for care.
UCHealth Improves Operating Room Efficiency, Lowering Wait Times and Improving Patient
Experience, with LeanTaaS
LeanTaaS, Inc., a Silicon Valley innovator of software solutions that increase patient access and
improve operational performance for healthcare providers, today shared results from
UCHealth’s first year of implementing the company’s iQueue for Operating Rooms. In the first
full year of use, UCHealth experienced dramatic improvements in operating room (OR)
utilization and increased revenue by $10 million across UCHealth’s University of Colorado
Hospital (UCH) ORs.
Here's a case study from one of our innovation partners that shows how we developed machine
learning, smart-scheduling technology to improve the efficiency of our infusion
centers:https://leantaas.com/resources/iqueue-for-infusion-centers-caste-study-uchealth/
(note – the 2 technologies mentioned above have now been rolled out at almost all of our
infusion centers and operating rooms throughout the system.)
And here’s another of our innovation technologies – this one helps identify lower-priced
medications for patients:
UCHealth Launches Prescription Pricing Tool, Allowing Providers to Check the Prices Individual
Patients Might Pay for Their Medications