With much fanfare Thursday, the Business Health Care Group of WI showcased the Rand Hospital Price Transparency Study - Round 3 - released days earlier. (Press release here.)

Rand researcher Christopher Whaley was the featured presenter; some highlights from my notes ( full report at this link):

• Hospitals charged on average, 224% of Medicare reimbursements in 2016, 230% in ’17 and 247% in ’18. Nice trend.
• Arkansas was the lowest at under 200%; West Virginia (!) the highest at over 350%; Wisconsin came in 10^th place just under 300%. Congrats. We should be so proud!
• Whaley said “we know” the higher costs in Wisconsin are due to price growth, not utilization. That’s worth re-reading.
• Rand studied costs and quality, noting there are hospitals with lower costs and high quality.

Armed finally with this hospital specific data, consumers and employers are sure to act.

Wanna bet?

To similar fanfare in 2001, the Greater Milwaukee Business Foundation on Health (GMBFH) released a study showing healthcare costs in Milwaukee 31% over Midwest averages, improving to ‘just’ 27% in 2003.

Take a trip down memory lane here. Note there was short term improvement but then backsliding after that.

While you try and figure out why, I’ll look for my kazoo.