Assessing the Complex and Evolving Relationship between Charges and Payments in US Hospitals: 1996 - 2012.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In 2013 the United States spent $2.9 trillion on health care, more than in any previous year. Much of the debate around slowing health care spending growth focuses on the complicated pricing system for services. Our investigation contributes to knowledge of health care spending by assessing the relationship between charges and payments in the inpatient hospital setting. In the US, charges and payments differ because of a complex set of incentives that connect health care providers and funders. Our methodology can also be applied to adjust charge data to reflect actual spending.

Methods

We extracted cause of health care encounter (cause), primary payer (payer), charge, and payment information for 50,172 inpatient hospital stays from 1996 through 2012. We used linea

SUBMITTER: Hamavid H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4938432 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature