Hospital Survey Finds West More Costly
A hospital patient in San Jose can expect to pay an average of $1,487 a day, while someone needing the same care in Danville, Va., would pay just $353, according to a survey released Tuesday.
And although patients spent nearly the same amount of time in hospitals last year as in 1986, the cost for the stay jumped an average of 16% nationwide in that time, according to the survey of 1,863 hospitals.
The study was conducted for the 15th year by Equicor, a joint venture of Hospital Corp. of America and the Equitable Group & Health Insurance Co. that sells benefit packages to employers.
The amounts charged for all types of rooms, excluding those in geriatric, psychiatric and nursery wards, were averaged for each hospital.
The survey found that the jump in rates was due largely to a 20% rise in hospital charges for services other than room and board.
Hospitals in 46 states showed an increase in the amount they charge per day and those in 17 states reported increases of 20% or more, Equicor found.
“While the stabilization of hospital lengths of stay is very good news, a 19% increase in the overall cost of that stay is disturbing, especially in light of a general economic inflation rate of less than 5%,” said William T. Hjorth, Equicor president.
The American Hospital Assn. in Washington said Equicor should have studied the actual amounts hospitals collect, rather than what they charge.
There is a big difference between charges and collections, said Clay Mickel, director of communications for AHA. “It (Equicor’s study) doesn’t reflect the true rates that are paid by Medicare, for example, or other third-party payers.
“These discounts need to be taken into account.”
With 5,400 members, AHA is the nation’s largest trade organization representing hospitals, Mickel said.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to argue with the fact that ancillary charges are increasing more rapidly than other charges,” Mickel said.
Ancillary charges, usually fees paid radiologists, pathologists or for other laboratory work, are often only partly under the control of hospitals, he said.
HOSPITAL COSTS ACROSS THE U.S.
Equicor--a joint venture of Hospital Corp. of America and Equitable Group & Health Insurance Co.--ranked states according to the average charges per patient day in 1987 at hospitals it surveyed.
10 Most Expensive
Avg. Daily Cost Nevada $1,204 California $1,109 Washington, D.C. $924 Hawaii $906 Oregon $853 Arizona $848 Pennsylvania $845 Colorado $844 Florida $823 Louisiana $791 10 Least Expensive Rhode Island $425 Delaware $474 New Jersey $476 New York $512 North Carolina $512 Mississippi $527 Maine $547 Wisconsin $552 South Dakota $571 Iowa $584
