‘It is an affordability issue’
Residents of the
The report says
Emergency room utilization had the highest correlation to total cost, according to the report. Outstate utilization of the ER was 20 percent higher than the metro region, led by Mayo's
"I like to think about it as the whole region rather than one provider, but in the southeast part of the state, the resource use is the same as the state average and the price is higher," said MNCM President
"It is an affordability issue for people living in that part of the state."
The study suggests a typical resident of
As one specific example of the wide cost variance, MNCM reports that Mayo charges
Mayo, which has been the nation's top-ranked hospital by
"
"
"Understanding the cost of care and its components is very important as we continue our journey toward value based care. With some modifications to the measurement approach, the cost of care delivered to our regional population would be more accurate, allowing patients to make well-informed choices about their health care."
In tax forms filed earlier this month, Mayo reported a net income of
Sonier said the study involved collecting data from
For example, the "risk-adjusted cost of care" attempts to examine the numbers as if each site had the same mix of patients, according to MNCM spokesperson
"We certainly are committed to being transparent about our methodology, but we are open to hearing concerns that individual providers might raise and are open to how we might adjust our methods," Sonier said.
Additionally, OMC's costs are classified as "high" by MNCM's HealthScore, based on the fact that the risk-adjusted monthly average is
"What we're trying to do is make sure we get the right care to the right person at the right time," Harrington said. "I'm actually looking at those numbers as a way to improve our performance. It's showing us we have some work to do."
According to the new report, Mayo's cost index in
Additionally, Mayo's costs increased by 6.5 percent and the
"(The state's increase) is lower than the historical average for annual per person growth, so that's good news in a sense," Sonier said. "But it's also still true that that's faster than the growth in income ... so costs in healthcare poses a problem for people.
"(Local increases mean) that the challenge of affordability in health care may be even greater for people in that part of the state."
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Most expensive MN hospitals in 2016
Average monthly cost per patient
1.
2. MCHS,
3. MCHS Eau Claire, (
4.
5.
6. MCHS Northland,
7. MCHS Red Cedar,
8.
9. MCHS Lake City,
10.
11 Scenic Rivers,
12.
13.
14.
15. Riverwood Aitkin,
16.
17. MCHS Austin &
18. MCHS Red Wing,
19.
20.
21.
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