An inaugural report by the New York City Health Department aimed at cracking down on sky-high prices hospitals charge patients has gaping holes in it because the Big Apple’s largest public-employee insurer refuses to turn over records, officials said.
The 263-page report quietly released Friday through the agency’s new Office of Healthcare Accountability says hospital prices are wildly inconsistent. The study focused on payments made through the city’s health care provider, Anthem Blue Cross, and not private-sector insurance plans.
The city’s GHI-Comprehensive Benefits Plan through Anthem paid on average $45,150 for inpatient services last fiscal year at New York’s top 10 hospital systems, the report said.
at $92,727. Stephen Yang
The highest prices for full in-patient treatment were at New York-Presbyterian ($92,727) and Montefiore Medical Center ($83,573), while Stony Brook University Hospital was the lowest ($36,876).
The report noted the city spent $3.3 billion paying for employee hospital care during the fiscal year ending June 30, and half went to three hospital systems: Northwell Health ($759 million), New York-Presbyterian ($485 million) and NYU Langone Health ($443 million).
New York-Presbyterian had the highest prices for 11 of 12 inpatient procedures analyzed and 14 of 27 outpatient procedures, the
