The Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) has released an interactive map providing price comparison information for common health care services in Colorado. An accompanying infographic shows the variation in prices for common health care services across regions, and that the regions with the highest and lowest prices are not consistent when comparing services.
The map illustrates regional variation for 11 common services across the nine Division of Insurance geographic rating areas. No one region is consistently high or low for all of the procedures, although some regions stand out for several of the services. For example, the West region is the highest with respect to prices for five procedures – breast biopsy, C-section, hip replacement, knee arthroscopy and tonsillectomy. In contrast, the Boulder region has the lowest prices for three of the services – gall bladder surgery, hip replacement and knee replacement. The East region is unique in that it is highest for cataract surgery, colonoscopy and upper GI endoscopy, but also has the lowest prices in vaginal delivery.
The data is based on 2017 claims information in the Colorado All Payer Claims Database (CO APCD) from over 40 commercial health insurance payers. Prices reflect payments made for the full episode of care (pre-, during, and post-).
Read more:
- CIVHC Interactive map: http://www.civhc.org/shop-for-care/
- Infographic: Regional Price Variation for Common Procedures, Commercial Insurers, 2017: https://www.civhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Regional-Price-Variation-Procedure-Prices-2019.pdf