It costs about $1,000 more to get a colonoscopy
at South County Hospital than it does in Providence, but MRIs, CT scans and
mammograms are slightly cheaper in your backyard than at the
average hospital in providence and throughout Rhode Island.
That's according to data from New
Choice Health, a private company
that encourages people to become smarter healthcare consumers.
New Choice estimates colonoscopies cost about $3,500 in
Washington County, compared to just $2,500 in Providence County, and $2,700 on
average across Rhode Island. But a CT scan is more than $200 cheaper at South
County than the state average and an MRI is about $100 cheaper. A mammogram is
similar in price across the state.
EDITOR'S NOTE: using the same database, I checked the prices charged by Westerly Hospital and its soon-to-be new owner Lawrence & Memorial for a couple of the same procedures. Westerly charges an average of $4,300 for a colonoscopy and L&M charges $4,700. Westerly charges $400 for a mammogram and L&M charges $750.
These big regional differences have been in the news lately: As
the Washington Post wrote on Wednesday, "One hospital charges $8,000 - another $38,000." Using the same data as the Post, The New York Times listed out the prices of a series of procedures in
hospitals across the country.
These big regional differences have been in the news lately: As
the Washington Post wrote on Wednesday, "One hospital charges $8,000 - another $38,000." Using the same data as the Post, The New York Times listed out the prices of a series of procedures in
hospitals across the country.
The Times and
the Post used data from Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services. Patch worked with New
Choice Health to examine the
cost of four well-known procedures in Patch communities all across the country
and found wide disparities – CT scans, colonoscopies, MRIs and mammograms. The
examination revealed the costs can vary by thousands of dollars even within the
same community.
Take Orange County. A CT scan in the sprawling suburban area can
go for as little as $1,790 or for as much as $6,130 – a difference of more than
$4,000. The cost of a colonoscopy in Suffolk County Massachusetts, can be as
little as $2,570 or as much as $6,000.
The prices from New Choice Health reflect the “list price” for these procedures – kind of
like the sticker price on a car. Health insurance companies often end up
getting different discounts and reimbursements depending the arrangements they
have worked out with providers. But the point, says New Choice’s Brian Keigley,
is to give consumers the information they need to negotiate for themselves.
Looking at the data, some trends seem to emerge. Often the
communities with the well-known medical research centers seem to be some of the
most expensive places to have procedures done – or they at least go higher on
the high-end of costs.