A New Study Says – Apparently Not
Per capita Medicare spending is more than twice as high in New York City and Miami than in places like Salem, Oregon.
How much of these differences can be explained by Medicare’s paying more to compensate for the higher cost of goods and services in such areas?
The Study
According to Daniel J. Gottlieb, Weiping Zhou, Yunjie Song, Kathryn Gilman Andrews, Jonathan S. Skinner and Jason M. Sutherland – not much!
The Answer
The authors analyzed Medicare spending after adjusting for local price differences in 306 Hospital Referral Regions. The price-adjustment analysis resulted in less variation in what Medicare pays regionally, but not much.
The findings suggest that utilization—not local price differences—drives Medicare regional payment variations, along with special payments for medical education and care for the poor.
Assessment
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.2009.0609v1
Conclusion
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Filed under: Health Economics, Healthcare Finance | Tagged: Daniel J. Gottlieb, Hospital Referral Regions, Jonathan S. Skinner and Jason M. Sutherland, Kathryn Gilman Andrews, medicare, Weiping Zhou, www.HealthAfairs.org, Yunjie Song | 2 Comments »