Chargemaster
Also called: Charge Description Master, CDM
In plain English
A hospital's comprehensive list of prices for every item and service it provides — from a single aspirin to open-heart surgery. These are the 'sticker prices' before insurance negotiation. Under federal law, hospitals must now publish their chargemasters online.
Real-world example
A hospital's chargemaster might list a single Tylenol tablet at $15, a bag of IV saline at $300, or an ER visit at $8,000. These prices bear little relation to actual costs and are primarily starting points for insurance negotiations.
Why this matters for your bill
Chargemaster prices are essentially fictional — nobody pays them except uninsured patients who don't know to negotiate. Since 2021, hospitals are required to publish these prices online. Use them to compare, but know that negotiated rates are typically 50-80% less.
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