Publications
Publications
- December 12, 2023
- JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association
Prices for Common Services at Quaternary vs Nonquaternary Hospitals
By: Brandon W. Yan, Maximilian J. Pany and Leemore S. Dafny
Abstract
Using commercial health insurance claims data from 2017-2019, we assessed whether quaternary hospitals charged higher prices for common, unspecialized services also offered by nonquaternary hospitals. We found quaternary-hospital price premiums of 8.2 percent, on average, across a set of common inpatient admissions, and price premiums of 3.7 percent, on average across a set of common outpatient services – with higher premiums for colonoscopies and no significant premium for mammographies. These premiums may reflect market power and bargaining leverage vis a vis insurers derived from offering quaternary services, implying the leverage may extend to competitively provided services.
Keywords
Citation
Yan, Brandon W., Maximilian J. Pany, and Leemore S. Dafny. "Prices for Common Services at Quaternary vs Nonquaternary Hospitals." JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association 330, no. 22 (December 12, 2023): 2211–2213.