Charge Master: Friend or Foe?

Prices charged for imaging services can be found in the charge master, a catalog of retail list prices for medical goods and services. This article reviews the evolution of reimbursement in the United States and provides a balanced discussion of the factors that influence charge master prices. Reduced payments to hospitals have pressured hospitals to generate additional revenue by increasing charge master prices. An unfortunate consequence is that those least able to pay for health care, the uninsured, are subjected to the highest charges. Yet, differences in pricing also represent an opportunity for radiology practices, which provide imaging services that are larger in scope or superior in quality to promote product differentiation. Physicians, hospital executives, and policy makers need to work together to improve the existing reimbursement system to promote high-quality, low-cost imaging.