Medicare Releases Inpatient and Outpatient Hospital Charge Data

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released in May 2013 the average charges of more than 3,000 hospitals for the 100 most common Medicare inpatient procedures.  On June 3, 2013, CMS also unveiled select hospital outpatient data, including estimated average charges for 30 types of hospital outpatient procedures for Medicare beneficiaries.  Specifically, the release of both the inpatient and outpatient data sets detail the variation in hospital charges, even in the same geographic area.  The release of hospital charge data and county-level utilization and chronic conditions data will assist in efforts to make prices transparent to consumers, policymakers and providers. These data will also enable researchers, policy-makers, and consumers to better understand Medicare spending patterns and spur innovation and transparency.