When a patient arrives at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital needing major joint replacement, the hospital bills Medicare $38,868, while Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville bills Medicare $64,236 for the same treatment, according to a massive federal database of national health care costs the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services made public Wednesday.
On average, Lake Forest Hospital bills less than the U.S. average for treatments, while Advocate Condell in Libertyville and Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan bills Medicare one to two times more than the U.S. average, according to a database compiled by New York Times, which is searchable by ZIP code or state.
For the first time people can see in detail how much the vast majority of American hospitals charged for the top 100 most common procedures billed to Medicare. The database covers claims filed within fiscal year 2011 and includes 163,065 individual charges recorded at 3,337 hospitals in 306 metropolitan areas, Huffington Post reported.
Illinois hospitals on average charged about the same as the national average for procedures such as major lower joint replacement, pneumonia, breathing problem with ventilator, chest pain and heart failure, according to the database compiled by Washington Post, which is searchable by state.
The University of Chicago Medical Center and Gottlieb Memorial Hospital had some of the highest prices for treatments among Chicago-area hospitals in 2011, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
Here’s a look at how much area hospitals charged for common treatments:
|
Treatment |
Hospital Name
|
Number of Cases |
Avg. Amount Billed Medicare |
Avg. Amount Paid by Medicare |
|
Major Joint Replacement |
Condell Libertyville |
164 |
$64,236 |
$14,198 |
|
Lake Forest |
249 |
$38,868 |
$12,643 |
|
|
Vista East Waukegan |
95 |
$108,613 |
$15,515 |
|
|
Diabetes |
Condell Libertyville |
36 |
$28,327 |
$5,096 |
|
Lake Forest |
17 |
$21,076 |
$4,736 |
|
|
Vista East Waukegan |
31 |
$24,321 |
$5,695 |
|
|
Pulmonary Embolism (clot) |
Condell Libertyville |
19 |
$43,911 |
$6,718 |
|
Lake Forest |
32 |
$27,609 |
$6,060 |
|
|
Vista East Waukegan |
12 |
$45,867 |
$7,193 |
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