LEWISTON – Standing in front of St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center with large “report cards,” the Maine People’s Alliance announced Friday that when it comes to letting the public know how much hospitals charge for the most common procedures, most do a fair or poor job.

The group, however, gave Lewiston’s two hospitals – St. Mary’s and Central Maine Medical Center – B grades for their efforts.

The MPA sent citizen volunteers to each of the state’s hospitals between February and May asking for prices of common procedures. Under the Dirigo health law passed in 2003, hospitals must post in a conspicuous place a statement about the availability of prices of common inpatient and outpatient procedures, said Trish Riley, director of the Governor’s Office on Health Policy and Finance.

According to the MPA, 60 percent of the hospitals surveyed scored a C or worse. A C meant the hospital did only “fair” in providing price information required by law. The hospital may have posted a notice saying a price list is available but not in an conspicuous place, or, pricing information could not obtained that day by the surveyor but was mailed in a timely manner.

A few hospitals that got F’s refused to give out information, the MPA said. A handful scored A’s, Rumford Hospital scored a B, and Franklin Memorial and Bridgton hospitals received D’s, as did Maine Medical Center in Portland and Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

The Maine Hospital Association disagreed with the grading, saying Maine hospitals are giving consumers price information and all deserve A’s.

“I don’t know how they conducted their so-called study,” MHA spokeswoman Mary Mayhew said of the Maine People’s Alliance. “I have serious doubts about the validity of these grades.”

Every hospital has signs informing consumers how they can get prices of common procedures, Mayhew said. “Hospitals are working with their employees who are answering the phones to try to make sure they’re aware of how to handle an inquiry of pricing.”

Consumers looking for price information should call the business office of any hospital, Mayhew said.

MPA spokeswoman Amy Thompson noted that “A handful of hospitals did very well. They had not just a sign posted, but the full list of procedures posted in a public place.”

But for the majority “the patient could not get access to the price information on the day they asked for it,” she said. Officials at some of those hospitals said they never heard of price listings, that the information was not available or “you can’t have it,” Thompson said.

People with insurance who pay co-payments should pay attention to prices, Thompson said. “Because if insurance companies are being charged inflated amounts, we’re all going to pay for that in our insurance premiums.”

MPA member Matt Graham, who owns the Bodega El Coqui grocery store and cafe in downtown Lewiston, said having price information is important to him.

“Being self-employed, we’re uninsured,” Graham said. That means when someone in his family has to go to the hospital, he has to figure how to pay for it. Knowing the cost ahead of time, knowing “that I may have to take a second mortgage to have my baby delivered is gigantic,” Graham said, adding his wife had a baby girl several months ago.

If he could save money by going to the hospital with the lower price, “I’m going to do that,” Graham said. “I’m not paying just the co-payment, but the full amount. I want to know.”

[email protected]