Geographical inequality: the cost of medical services in different US cities differs significantly

Фото: Depositphotos

The city in which a person lives influences how much he pays for medical care. This is confirmed by a new analysis of more than 1 billion medical bills.

The study showed that prices for procedures such as ultrasound and annual medical examination are very different in different cities.

Let's take ultrasound during pregnancy as an example. The average cost for this procedure in Canton, Ohio is $183. But an hour north, in Cleveland, the cost of an ultrasound nearly doubles to $522.

The problem of price hikes in medical services is not unique to the state of Ohio. New research published in the journal Health Affairs, shows the fact that price hikes in the same procedures are seen throughout the country.

In each state, some procedures have transcendental prices compared to the average in the state or country as a whole.

Conversation behind closed doors

American healthcare prices are agreements between insurance companies and hospitals.

Hospital management wants doctors to earn as much money as possible. Insurers, for their part, are trying to reduce the price of medical care.

Such negotiations take place behind closed doors. Therefore, it is difficult to find out which insurance company and what was agreed with the hospital. This uncertainty leads to a big price difference, since health care players tend to get more money, but do not know how much their competitors pay.

Thus, studies have shown that within the same city the price of an MRI can vary from $ 400 to $ 2183. And the average cost of replacing a knee in the United States ranges from $ 26141 in Oklahoma to $ 46895 in South Carolina.

Previously ForumDaily писал about what you need to start when choosing a medical insurance.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Medical insurance in the USA: how to start a choice

Medical insurance Obamacare not expensive

Personal experience. How much is a month of living in California

Go to the page ForumDaily on Facebook to keep abreast of the latest news and comment material.