Variations in Medical Care Costs
In the May 22, 2000 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine appears an
article on the variations in costs for the same medical procedures. Researchers
from the Program in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research and the
Departments of Medicine and Health Administration, University of Toronto and
Womens College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario surveyed the 2 largest
general hospitals from every large city (population >500,000) in the United
States and Canada.
The contrasts in fees found in this study are so profound that we thought we
would share some of them with you.
Procedure |
Minimum Cost |
Maximum Cost |
Prothrombin blood test |
$2.96 |
$118.40 |
Electrocardiogram with interpretation |
3.70 |
266.89 |
MRI scan of head with interpretation |
$514.30 |
$2000.00 |
Filling Prozac prescription |
$25.93 |
$3.20 |
Emergency department visit for suture removal |
$30.00 |
$700.00 |
Total knee replacement |
$160 |
$46,98 5 |
The findings were even surprising to the researchers. In their conclusion
they said, "Charges for the same hospital service vary substantially.
Greater visibility might reduce some variation by bringing outliers into closer
scrutiny. Patients seeking care and paying out-of-pocket could save financially
by comparison shopping." In this article they print a chart with the
highs and lows for certain medical procedures."
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