Health Care Prices Vary Wildly Across the Country

A new study looking at the prices paid by private health plans for 242 common health services shows patients receiving identical treatments can be charged vastly different prices depending on where they live.

To illustrate one of the 242 procedures—a pregnancy ultrasound—the authors found that in Ohio, the average price in Cleveland ($522) was almost three times that in Canton ($183), though the two cities are only 60 miles apart.

These prices affect us at the bargaining table. Employers in high price areas are likely to demand bigger plan cuts to reduce their costs. Plans in these areas are also more likely to be hit by the excise tax in 2020.

The map below shows “price ratios” for average state prices. The darkest blues states have prices 133% above the national average or higher.

Links:

For Medical Procedures, Costs Vary Greatly By Locale (Health Affairs, April 27, 2016)

Factsheet: Excise Tax on High Value Plans (CWA Health Care & Retirement Security Blog, May 2016)

National Chartbook of Health Care Prices 2015 (Health Care Cost Institute, May 2016)