Healthcare Education and Q&A Thread

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

I am curious as to the average payment for the vast majority of commercially insured individuals. Realizing this breaks down by coverage, age, etc., I am just looking for a true average.

This is difficult to answer because it will vary so greatly from hospital to hospital. I can tell you our large urban academic medical center got an average of $20,074 per inpatient admission in the most recent fiscal year. Meanwhile, our community hospital got $8,876 per inpatient admission.

The reimbursement is so much better at the academic medical center because it sees sicker patients requiring more expensive treatment, which results in higher reimbursement. Also, the commercial rates are higher at the academic medical center, because of negotiating power discussed in the first post above.

Which is a good representation of the US average? Really hard to say. I do know the Medicare "base rate" is about $6000 nationwide. So I'd put the nationwide commercial average at $6000 - $10,000 per inpatient admission.

Much, much higher if said patient is sicker than the average inpatient admission.

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

Further, what is the tax burden impact of medicaid and medicare to taxpayers?

To me, that is the "cost of insurance" (ave. paid by all commercially insured + pro rata tax burden to taxpayers). For those who use self pay, the cost would be the average annual cost of healthcare (i.e. 1 million uncovered people spent X on healthcare in 2008) + pro rata tax burden.

Great question and I'd agree with the approach to ascertain the number. Unfortunately I don't have the information available to me to do it.