The federal government today released a spreadsheet of medical care costs that shows huge disparities in costs, even within the same geographical area.
The spreadsheet, which presents the type of diagnosis, hospital name, average covered charges and average total payments, is rife with surprising contrasts in costs. In Colorado, for example, a patient with a respiratory infection or inflammation would pay just under $10,000 at McKee Medical Center in Loveland, but they’d pay almost $21,500 at the CU Anschutz Hospital. Pneumonia at Exempla Good Samaritan at Lafayette averages $5,600; at Keefe Memorial Hospital in Cheyenne, Wyo., which could serve Coloradans, the average is $15,000.
See the story at TechCrunch and see the spreadsheet from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
