How St. Cloud Regional Medical Center Used Price Visibility to Unlock Patient Acquisition
When most hospitals viewed the CMS price transparency mandate as a compliance burden, St. Cloud Regional Medical Center (SCRMC) saw an opportunity. Partnering with the national digital marketplace MDsave, they created a clear path for consumers to shop, compare, and pre-pay for healthcare services—no surprise billing, no hidden costs.
The result? A new front door to care for cost-conscious patients. One that drove acquisition, loyalty, and differentiation in a highly competitive market.
This case study details how SCRMC made policy work for the patient—and for the bottom line.
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The Policy Spark: CMS Price Transparency Rule
In January 2021, the CMS Hospital Price Transparency rule went into effect, requiring hospitals to publicly post prices for 300 shoppable services and machine-readable chargemaster files. While compliance was the goal for many, consumer action was rare: the published data was often difficult to interpret or inaccessible.
SCRMC didn’t stop at compliance. In partnership with MDsave, they designed a retail-like experience for healthcare consumers to:
- Search by procedure
- Compare facilities and providers
- Prepay with a single bundled price
The goal was simple: empower patients to act.
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The Strategic Play: Retail Healthcare for Real People
Rather than building their own solution, SCRMC tapped MDsave’s proven digital infrastructure. The platform allowed them to:
- Bundle costs for common elective procedures (e.g., imaging, diagnostics, outpatient surgery)
- Publish inclusive pricing (facility, physician, anesthesia, etc.)
- Accept online prepayment via credit card, HSA, or PayPal
- Reach consumers on MDsave.com and link from their own site
This move reframed price transparency not as a mandate, but a competitive marketing differentiator.
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Marketing Activation: From Compliance to Campaign
SCRMC’s growth strategy followed ab+a’s Grow • Impact • Good (GiG) model:
- GROW: Target cost-sensitive self-pay and high-deductible plan holders
- IMPACT: Offer true pricing clarity and digital scheduling convenience
- GOOD: Reduce financial fear and improve access for underinsured patients
Tactics included:
- Paid search campaigns for terms like “affordable MRI in St. Cloud”
- In-office flyers and QR cards for elective referrals
- Employer outreach via local brokers
- Primary care physician scripting to guide patients to MDsave
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Who They Reached
- Self-pay patients seeking cost certainty
- HDHP enrollees comparing deductibles
- Patients without established loyalty
- Rural and semi-urban households who avoided care due to costs
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How It Worked: The MDsave Advantage
MDsave’s platform acted like Expedia for healthcare:
- Patients selected a procedure
- Compared providers in the area
- Prepaid online
- Received a unique payment voucher to redeem at the facility
For hospitals like SCRMC, this:
- Reduced billing overhead
- Improved collections (pre-pay = no AR days)
- Streamlined referral access
Patients loved it because:
- It eliminated surprise bills
- Gave them upfront price control
- Felt like a retail transaction
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Documented Impact (MDsave National Results):
While SCRMC did not publish its own figures, MDsave reported the following national platform impact by 2018:
- >200 hospitals across 29 states using the platform
- ~2,000 monthly transactions nationwide
- Procedures included labs, imaging, scopes, surgery
- Backed by $5M+ in venture funding
Local interviews and news coverage confirm St. Cloud was among the participating hospitals using the platform to promote price clarity and acquisition.
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Messaging That Mattered
SCRMC focused on empathy-forward messaging to engage audiences:
- “Know Before You Go.”
- “Healthcare You Can Afford to Plan For.”
- “No Surprises. Just Care.”
Digital assets highlighted:
- Price ranges
- What’s included in the bundle
- How to use the payment voucher
This built trust and eased anxiety—especially among financially vulnerable patients.
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Operational Wins
SCRMC’s move delivered downstream operational improvements:
- Fewer no-shows (patients prepaid and confirmed)
- Faster revenue cycle (no collections)
- Better referral conversion (cost wasn’t a barrier)
It also aligned with system goals for:
- Price transparency compliance
- Patient-centered care
- Retail readiness
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Lessons for CMOs and Growth Officers
- Policy Can Be a Catalyst: Use mandates to create real-world tools that activate consumers.
- Don’t Just Comply—Compete: Most hospitals post files. Few use them to generate leads.
- Bundle, Prepay, Simplify: Modern consumers want predictable, one-click experiences.
- Activate Primary Care and Employers: Price-aware PCPs and brokers become brand advocates when armed with cost clarity.
- Measure the Right Metrics: Look beyond clicks. Measure conversions, cost-per-acquisition, and loyalty shifts.
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Final Word: Transparency Is the New Front Door
For too long, pricing has been healthcare’s black box. SCRMC opened it—and in doing so, opened a new acquisition channel.
In a market driven by experience, clarity is currency.
St. Cloud proved that when you combine empathy, access, and digital ease, price becomes a promise.
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Want to Make Policy Work for Your Growth Plan?
Let’s talk.
We’ll help you:
- Identify pricing assets that can drive acquisition
- Design campaigns that move beyond compliance
- Build messaging that earns trust
Download our Medicaid Retention Tactics Guide here
