Community Corner

See What Niles-Area Hospitals Billed Medicare for Common Procedures

On average, Advocate Lutheran General bills Medicare less than the U.S. average, while Resurrection Medical Center bills one to two times more than the U.S. average for treatments.

 

When a patient arrives at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital needing major joint replacement, the hospital bills Medicare $43,858, while at nearby Resurrection Medical Cneter, the hospital bills Medicare $53,364 for the same treatment, according to a massive federal database of national health care costs the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services made public Wednesday

On average, Advocate Lutheran General and Skokie Hospital bill Medicare less than the U.S. average, while Resurrection Medical Center bills one to two times more than the U.S. average for treatments, according to a database compiled by New York Times, which is searchable by ZIP code or state. 

Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For the first time people can see in detail how much the vast majority of American hospitals charged for the top 100 most common procedures billed to Medicare. The database covers claims filed within fiscal year 2011 and includes 163,065 individual charges recorded at 3,337 hospitals in 306 metropolitan areas, Huffington Post reported. 

Illinois hospitals on average charged about the same as the national average for procedures such as major lower joint replacement, pneumonia, breathing problem with ventilator, chest pain and heart failure, according to the database compiled by Washington Post, which is searchable by state. 

Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The University of Chicago Medical Center and Gottlieb Memorial Hospital had some of the highest prices for treatments among Chicago-area hospitals in 2011, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. 

Here’s a look at how much Evanston hospitals charged for common treatments: 

Treatment

Hospital Name       

 

Number of Cases

Avg. Amount Billed Medicare

Avg. Amount Paid by Medicare

Major Joint Replacement

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital

505

$43,858

$17,795

Resurrection Medical Center

215

$53,364

$15,656

Skokie Hospital

279

$50,086

$15,112

 

 

 

 

Chest Pain

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital

159

$14,418

$4,232

Resurrection Medical Center

32

$20,641

$3,679

Skokie Hospital

35

$16,155

$4,008

Pulmonary Embolism (clot)

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital

44

$30,153

$8,908

Resurrection Medical Center

20

$32,672

$7,565

Skokie Hospital

15

$33,717

$7,868


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here