In Health Care, Cost Isn’t Proof of High Quality – New York Times

…In a Pennsylvania government survey of the state’s 60 hospitals that perform heart bypass surgery, the best-paid hospital received nearly $100,000, on average, for the operation while the least-paid got less than $20,000.

At both, patients had comparable lengths of stay and death rates. And among the 20 hospitals serving metropolitan Philadelphia, two of the highest paid actually had higher-than-expected death rates, the survey found.

Hospitals say there are numerous reasons for some of the high payments, including the fact that a single very expensive case can push up the averages.

In Health Care, Cost Isn’t Proof of High Quality – New York Times