HPCI News: Consumerism Hits Health Care
To: Members and selected others
The front cover article of
this month's Hospitals and Health Networks magazine,
published by the American Hospital Association, has this
headline: "Consumerism Hits Health Care". The sub-heading is
"Consumers want pricing, they want value and they want great
customer service. Are you providing all that?"
Turns out this is the first in a five-part series on the
rise of the health care consumer. The series will examine
the distinction between patients and consumers; how
retailers, Internet giants and other consumer-friendly
businesses are disrupting the health care system; the
emergence of new payment models; and the growing
sophistication of Americans when it comes to understanding -
and demanding - information about providers prices, quality
and customer service.
Iowa employers and purchasers
have been working on obtaining information on all three of
these for some time. There is now good customer service
information available on the CMS Healthcare Compare national
website. Hospital information is from HCAPS, a national
standardized survey of Medicare patients. Physician and
other provider customer service information is to follow.
Meaningful quality information has been slower coming to
Iowa. Some is available, such as readmission rates by
hospital and Hospital Safety Scores published by the
Leapfrog Group. Thus, Iowa ranks low in quality transparency
compared to other states.
Cost transparency of
hospitals was graded a "D+" by Iowa employers according to
David P. Lind Benchmarks. Iowa received an "F" grade for its
price transparency laws by the Catalyst for Payment Reform.
Some limited price information is becoming available.
The Hospital Pricing Specialists have been making some
national comparative data available. Last month's HPCI News
included price information for echocardiogram procedures for
greater Iowa hospitals. This time prices for Total Knee
Replacement is shown below.
Price for Total
Knee Replacement
$73,894 - Creighton University
Hospital, Omaha
$64,361 - Lakeside Hospital, Omaha
$62,761 - Immunel Medical Center, Omaha
$53,535 - Mercy
Hospital, Council Bluffs
$53,153 - Mercy Hospital, Iowa
City
$48,722 - Methodist Hospital, Omaha
$48,287 -
Iowa Lutheran Hospital, Des Moines
$47,144 - St. Luke's
Hospital, Cedar Rapids
$46,920 - Stanford USD Medical
Center, Sioux Falls
$46,878 - Iowa Methodist Medical
Center - Methodist West, West Des Moines
$46,657 -
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City
$46,156 - Trinity Muscatine, Muscatine
$46,123 - Avera
McKennan Hospital, Sioux Falls
$44,598 - Sartori Memorial
Hospital, Cedar Falls
$43,555 - Trinity Regional Medical
Center, Fort Dodge
$43,349 - Jennie Edmundson Hospital,
Council Bluffs
$40,850 - St. Lukes Regional Medical
Center, Sioux City
$40,714 - Mercy Medical Center North
Iowa, Mason City
$40,515 - Mercy Medical Center, Cedar
Rapids
$40,461 - Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha
$40,291 - Mary Greeley Medical Center, Ames
$37,905 -
Mercy Medical Center, Sioux City
$37,493 - Genesis
Medical Center, Davenport
$36,496 - Ottumwa Regional
Health Care, Ottumwa
$35,948 - Mercy Medical Center -
West Lakes, West Des Moines
$35,552 - Covenant Medical
Center, Waterloo
$35,092 - Great River Medical Center,
West Burlington
$33,593 - Finley Hospital, Dubuque
$32,546 - Mercy Medical Center, Dubuque
$28,407 -
Rochester Methodist Hospital, Rochester, MN
$28,144 -
Allen Memorial Hospital, Waterloo
$24,318 - Nebraska
Orthopedic Hospital, Omaha
Stay tuned. Much more to
come.
Paul M. Pietzsch, MPH
HPCI - IHBA Office
4430 Ashley Park Drive
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
(515) 778-6300