Area hospital costs far below average

Dealing with an illness or injury is one of the most stressful traumas in life. One thing a patient doesn't need to add to the stress level is worry about being gouged on the hospital charges.

"We recognize that people are struggling in this economy, and how expensive health insurance can be," says Buena Vista Regional Medical Center CEO Todd Hudspeth, of efforts to keep the local facility's charges down.

Competition plays a role as well - the facility continually monitors prices for procedures around the region and across the state to make sure it is offering competitive value to its patients.

That competition can be quite frugal.

The latest Inpatient Care Costs study by Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield show that Iowa hospitals come in well below the midwest average cost on almost all of the common conditions for patient care.

For example, cardiac failure cases average $7,700 cost for Iowa hospitals, far below the average of the midwest continguous states at $9,500 per patient.

A peptic ulcer costs the average Iowa hospital patient $6,400, while the rest of the midwest averages $10,500. An appendectomy costs $8,400 in Iowa and $9,200 in the midwest. A mastectomy, $8,200 in Iowa and $14,800 for the midwest. A gastric bypass is $15,000 in Iowa, $19,000 for the midwest. Care for a low birthweight baby runs $38,400 in Iowa, $61,800 for the midwest. A normal birth costs $3,600 in Iowa, equal to the midwest average. A heart bypass surgery is $27,600 in Iowa, $36,600 for the midwest. Substance abuse inpatient treatment runs $2,900 in Iowa, a fraction of the $7,800 midwest average. One of the few exeptions is a knee joint replacement, where Iowa average is $16,400, a couple hundred dollars above midwest average.

Why are Iowa hospital's costs so low compared to the rest of the region?

Hudspeth sees a couple of reasons. First, Iowa health care facilities and doctors have always worked for efficiency and affordability - something that isn't necessarily a priority everywhere.

And second, Iowa facilities continue to be shortchanged on Medicare reimbursements, which may be driving down the cost statistics.

The Medicare reimbursement deficit - the different between the actual cost of providing the medical service and what the government program chooses to pay for the service on behalf of its Medicare-insured patients - has closed somewhat for critical access hospitals of BVRMC's size, but bigger hospitals continue to fight for fair reimbursements.

"While the impact is not as great on us, our local doctors are fighting that battle every day, and that does concern us very much," Hudspeth says. "Our physicians are getting lower payments for the same services than doctors in other parts of the country."

That makes recruiting top doctors ever more challenging for Iowa communities and hospitals.

"No matter how good your hospital is, if you can't get and keep good physicians, it isn't going to matter," Hudspeth explained.

The Iowa Hospital Association finds that the Medicare payment per beneficiary patient in an Iowa hospital is below $4,000 - compared to $8,000 to $9,000 in Louisiana, he says.

Read more of this story in the December 1 Pilot Tribune.