Primary Listings
Average Cost for Hospital ER Visit, 2007, MEPS
Average expenses for a visit to the Emergency Room were $1038 in 2007, according to the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). For people ages 45 to 64, the cost was substantially higher on average ($1539). Uninsured people under age 65 averaged $986 in expenses, of which they paid about 45% out of pocket; Medicare recipients paid only about 3.5% out of pocket. Median charges for children under age 18 were less than $400
Emergency Dept. Report - Florida 2006 data (pdf)
Highly informative statistical summary, including average cost (charges) per hospital ER visit of $1881 (2006 prices), patient characteristics, insurance status or Self-Pay charges, common symptoms (e.g. $4015 for abdominal pain visit, or $2010 average cost for hypertension visit in the ER; $1375 for asthma visit), and more. Pediatric visits in 2006 had average charges of $591 to $1479 depending on acuity. Low acuity adult visits ranged from $965 to $1597 rising with age, and from $2343 to $3325 for high acuity visits. Useful for any new ED manager involved with strategic business planning, regardless of state. See Tables and Appendixes for average prices for an emergency visit. 56 pages, published by FL Agency for Health Care Admin. Feb. 2009
Florida ER Visit Charges, 2009 (interactive)
Find the average cost of an emergency room (ER / ED) visit at each Florida hospital in 2008-2009. Average charge at more than half of the 204 FL hospitals exceeded $2500, with South Miami Hospital (Baptist Health) the highest at $7056 per ER visit as of March 2009. Only 9 hospitals (down from 16) had an average charge under $1000. Complexity and seriousness of the visit vary from hospital to hospital. Researchers Tool from FloridaHealthFinder.gov.
Healthcare Expenses for Seniors (MEPS 2006 data)
Special report on Health Care Expenditures for the Elderly Age 65 and over, shows median annual expenditures were $4032 in 2006, vs. $2204 in 1996. Average expenses for those with expense were $9080. Medicare paid about 61%; private insurance paid 14%; out-of-pocket amount was 15%. Nearly 97% of seniors had some healthcare expense, most often office-based care and prescribed medicines. Medications took up 22% of the total, averaging $174 per purchase. For seniors, the inpatient room rate averaged $2714 per day (2006); ER visit was $651 on average; office visit was $180. MEPS Statistical Brief #256, Aug. 2009
Minnesota: How Much Does It Cost? (word doc)
Short document from the Minnesota Council of Health Plans, 2005, displays average charges (from 2003) for nearly 50 common medical treatments (including endoscopy, ear tubes, hysterectomy, tonsillectomy, having a baby, and some prescription drugs), using Minnesota data. An interesting comparison is the cost for the same problem (e.g. sore throat or ear ache), depending on whether the patient seeks office care, urgent care or ER care. This report adds together charges from both the hospital and the physician - not commonly seen in reports of charges. In a time when price data are so difficult to get, this report earns an Editor's Pick as a starting point. After all, did you know that stepping on a rusty nail could cost over $1000, or that a colonoscopy could be a $2000 question?
New Hampshire Costs - Outpatient Surgery, Tests and Maternity
Shows typical prices for many outpatient procedures, plus inpatient maternity care. NH Health Cost shows expected average cost for over 30 common tests and ambulatory surgeries including colonoscopy, mammogram, ER visit; chest x-ray or x-ray for spine, shoulder, knee, ankle, or foot; bone density scan, CT scan (3 types), MRI for back, brain, knee, or pelvis; myocardial imaging; arthrocentesis, arthroscopy of knee, breast biopsy, destruction of lesion, outpatient gall bladder surgery, hernia repair, kidney stone removal, tonsillectomy, breast ultrasound, and other maternity ultrasound tests, births. Site uses 2007-2008 costs increased by 5% for price inflation, common language instead of requiring codes, and includes physician fees. Must supply zip code and insurance information (or no insurance). Report by The NH Department of Insurance updated 2009
Vermont - 2009 ER and Outpatient Diagnostic Service Prices (pdf)
Compare 2009 hospital prices for physician office visit (new patient averages $49 to $465), Emergency Room, lab work, x-ray & imaging tests. MRI charges averaged $1850 [head & neck] to $2911 [brain] with physician fee, CT scan of head, neck, chest, spine, pelvis, abdomen; mammograms average $327 to $360 with physician charge; ER costs averaged $207 to $1135, depending on Level 1 to 5 (individual cities may be higher or lower), before adding charges for tests or procedures. Specific test prices for urinalysis, glucose, Metabolic Panel ($39 low; $213 high), PSA (average $109), CBC (range $35 to $84), strep test, Pap test, pregnancy test (range $20 to $83), blood typing, OB ultrasound (average $669), bone density dexa scan (avg. $388 with MD fee, listed under x-ray), Cardiology EKG ($1375 for stress EKG) and more. CPT codes listed. Probably the best State site for hospital outpatient diagnostic test and ER cost comparison. Prices good through Sept. 30, 2009. Titles of Tables 3A through 3I are too skimpy to tell you what they contain, so you may have to look through multiple Tables
Other Helpful Listings
California - Average Inpatient and Outpatient Hospital Prices, 2008(pdf)
Find average hospital prices for California's inpatient cases and top 25 types of outpatient procedures or surgery by CPT code) for each hospital. Outpatient reports may show prices for Emergency Dept. visit. Very difficult for the average consumer to use, since files are in Excel file format. But the good news is that the prices are current to June, 2008.
Five Most Costly Medical Conditions, 2006 (2009 pdf)
Heart conditions, trauma-related disorders, mental disorders, cancer and asthma were identified as the top 5 most costly illnesses in 2006. Medical expenditures (payments) according to MEPS data (household component) show average costs were $5176 for a cancer patient, $3964 for someone with heart disease, $1953 per trauma patient, $1591 for mental health care, and $1059 for someone with asthma. Average out of pocket payments by consumers ranged from 8.2% to 25% of these expenditures. Heart disease accounted for $78 billion in payments in 2006. AHRQ Statistical Brief 248, July 2009