Study by Rhode Island Health Commissioner Finds Hospital Payments Vary Widely
January 20, 2010
The Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner has released a study on commercial payments to hospitals in the state, which suggests that commercial payments to hospitals vary widely.
The average payment per inpatient stay was about 116 percent of Medicare. However, payment rates range from 79 percent of Medicare at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence to 167 percent of Medicare at Kent Hospital in Warwick.
The largest factor determining payment rates was affiliation, according to the study. Hospitals affiliated with Care New England hospitals received payments on average at 149 percent of Medicare, and Lifespan hospitals received 117 percent of Medicare. Unaffiliated hospital received payments on average at 97 percent of Medicare.
The study is the first in the state to examine variation by hospital and by payor and is intended to ensure commercial payor compliance to state standards for commercial insurer conduct, which include "fair treatment of providers" and "efforts to promote health insurance affordability," according to the report.
Read the study on Rhode Island hospital payments.
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