That’s because Medicare considers observation outpatient care and does not pick up most of the bill. Patients instead must pay for any routine drugs provided by the hospital.
Silicon Valley, Ca.-based Hospital Pricing Specialists recently did its own observation care price research among Illinois hospitals. After reviewing the latest 2015 outpatient claims for observation care, HPS found hospitals in Illinois charging as little as $26.06 per hour to as high as $2,088 per hour.
The five most expensive Illinois hospitals for observation care were:
Holy Cross Hospital (Chicago) – $2,088
Harrisburg (Ill.) Medical Center – $564.50
OSF St Joseph Medical Center (Bloomington) – $217.67
Advocate Sherman Hospital (Elgin) – $181
Vanguard MacNeal Hospital (Berwyn) – $175.10
The five least expensive Illinois hospitals for observation care were:
Trinity Medical Center (Rock Island) – $32.04
Saint Mary’s Good Samaritan (Centralia) – $29.89
Good Samaritan Regional Health Center (Mount Vernon) – $29.40
Rush Copley Medical Center (Aurora) – $29
Decatur Memorial Hospital (Decatur) – $26.06
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