The State of California’s Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, (OSHPD), has launched a new state-run Web tool (Common Surgeries and Charges Comparison Website) that allows patients to view and compare the cost of 28 common elective inpatient procedures at hospitals across California – procedures include heart valve replacements, C-section deliveries, gall bladder removal, hysterectomies and total knee and hip replacements.
Using 2007 patient discharge data provided by hospitals across the state, users can see the number of procedures performed, the price and average length of stay. Charges displayed are the amount that the hospitals report to OSHPD as the hospital’s full established rates: these dollar amounts do not reflect what reimbursement the hospital actually received.