Published: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 1:12 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 2:03 p.m. <\/p>\n
The amount that North Bay hospitals charge for the same procedures varies widely from one facility to another, according to data released Wednesday by the federal government. <\/p>\n
For example, a procedure to replace a major joint or reattach a lower extremity can cost $44,278 at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Rosa, but up to $136,762 at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. <\/p>\n
The data was released to the public to help make the U.S. health care system more affordable and accountable, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. <\/p>\n
Currently, consumers don't know what a hospital is charging them or their insurance company for a given procedure, like a knee replacement, or how much of a price difference there is at different hospitals, even within the same city, Sebelius said. This data ... will help fill that gap. <\/p>\n
Hospitals nationwide are included in the comparisons, which focus on the 100 most common Medicare inpatient stays. In another example, treatment for poisoning and toxic effects of drugs cost $15,092 at Ukiah Valley Medical Center and $40,828 at Marin General Hospital, the report said. <\/p>\n
There are large parts of our health care system that just don't make a lot of sense, said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, a statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition. The health care pricing and prices make no sense to both lay people and experts, and there needs to be a reform of how providers are paid. <\/p>\n
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Cost of health care varies widely at North Bay hospitals<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Published: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 1:12 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 2:03 p.m Continue reading