7 Pennsylvania Hospitals Charge Around 10 Times Too Much, A Study Says

BY TOM DAVIS

A study says 50 hospitals in the United States are charging uninsured patients around 10 times more than the actual cost of medical care - and seven Pennsylvania facilities are on the list.

The study from Health Affairs, a leading journal of health policy, thought and research, reviewed Medicare cost reports and examined 50 U.S. hospitals with the highest charge-to-cost ratios in 2012.

North Okaloosa Medical Center in Florida tops the list, charging uninsured patients 12.6 times the actual cost of patient care, according to the study.

The highest Pennsylvania hospital on the list - fifth place overall - was Chestnut Hill Hospital, with a 1,190 percent markup over actual cost. Other Pennsylvania hospitals on the list, with their percentage markups over actual costs, are:

• Easton Hospital, Pa. - 1,040 markup
• Crozer Chester Medical, Pa. - 1,010 markup
• Brandywine Hospital, Pa. - 990 markup
• Hahnemann University Hospital, Pa. - 950 markup
• Phoenixville Hospital, Pa. - 950 markup
• Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, Pa. - 930 markup

Also topping the entire list was Carepoint Health-Bayonne Med­ical Center in Bayonne, N.J., which charges uninsured patients 12.6 times the actual cost of patient care. State law limits the maximum that hospitals can charge uninsured patients to 115 percent, according to a Washington Post report on the study.

Officials representing the 50 hospitals said they provide significant discounts to uninsured and underinsured patients, the Post report said.

Carepoint Health, which owns the New Jersey hospital and two others in urban Hudson County, said charge-pricing affects less than 7 percent of its total patient interactions. Without it, a spokesman said, the hospitals risk closure since urban facilities receive lower reimbursements than suburban ones, according to the Post report.

While these hospitals have markups that are approximately 10 times their Medicare-allowable costs, the average U.S. hospital that pays 3.4 times the cost of patient care, according to the study.

The analysis of the 50 hospitals showed that 49 are for-profit, 46 are owned by for-profit hospital systems and 20 percent operate in Florida. One for-profit hospital system - Community Health Systems - owns half of these 50 hospitals.

While most public and private health insurers do not use hospital charges to set their payment rates, uninsured patients are commonly asked to pay the full charges, according to the study.

“Federal and state governments may want to consider limitations on the charge-to-cost ratio, some form of all-payer rate setting, or mandated price disclosure to regulate hospital markups,” the study reported.

Here is the entire list, with their percentage markups over actual costs:

• North Okaloosa Medical Center, Fla. - 1,260 percent markup
• Carepoint Health-Bayonne Hospital, N.J. - 1,260 markup
• Bayfront Health Brooksville, Fla. - 1,250 markup
• Paul B Hall Regional Medical Center, Ky. - 1,250 markup
• Chestnut Hill Hospital, Pa. - 1,190 markup
• Gadsden Regional Medical Center, Alabama - 1,190 markup
• Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center, Fla. - 1,150 markup
• Orange Park Medical Center, Fla. - 1,140 markup
• Western Arizona Regional Medical Center, Ariz. - 1,140 markup
• Oak Hill Hospital, Fla. - 1,100 markup
• Texas General Hospital, Texas - 1,080 markup
• Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, Fla. - 1,060 markup
• Easton Hospital, Pa. - 1,040 markup
• Brookwood Medical, Alabama - 1,030 markup
• National Park Medical, Arkansas - 1,030 markup
• St. Petersburg General Hospital, Fla. - 1,020 markup
• Crozer Chester Medical, Pa. - 1,010 markup
• Riverview Regional Medical Center, Alabama - 1,000 markup
• Regional Hospital of Jackson, Tenn. - 990 markup
• Sebastian River Medical Center, Fla. - 990 markup
• Brandywine Hospital, Pa. - 990 markup
• Osceola Regional Medical Center, Fla. - 980 markup
• Decatur Morgan Hospital - Parkway Campus, Alabama - 980 markup
• Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma - 980 markup
• Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center, Fla. - 980 markup
• South Bay Hospital, Fla. - 970 markup
• Fawcett Memorial Hospital, Fla. - 970 markup
• North Florida Regional Medical Center, Fla. - 960 markup
• Doctors Hospital of Manteca, Calif. - 960 markup
• Doctors Medical Center, Calif. - 960 markup
• Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute, Fla. - 960 markup
• Lakeway Regional Hospital, Tenn. - 960 markup
• Brandon Regional Hospital, Fla. - 960 markup
• Hahnemann University Hospital, Pa. - 950 markup
• Phoenixville Hospital, Pa. - 950 markup
• Stringfellow Memorial Hospital, Alabama - 950 markup
• Lehigh Regional Medical Center, Fla. - 950 markup
• Southside Regional Medical Center, Va. - 950 markup
• Twin Cities Hospital, Fla. - 950 markup
• Olympia Medical Center, Calif. - 940 markup
• Springs Memorial Hospital, S.C. - 940 markup
• Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, Fla. - 940 markup
• Dallas Regional Medical Center, Texas - 940 markup
• Laredo Medical Center, Texas - 930 markup
• Bayfront Health Dade City, Fla. - 930 markup
• Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, Pa. - 930 markup
• Dyersburg Regional Medical Center, Tenn. - 920 markup
• South Texas Health SystemUniversal Health Services, Texas - 920 markup
• Kendall Regional Medical Center, Fla. - 920 markup
• Lake Granbury Medical Center, Texas - 920 markup

You can read more from the study by clicking here.