Other Helpful Listings

20 Most Expensive Conditions Requiring Hospital Stay, 2006 (pdf)

Heart disease (patients often received PTCA or CABG procedures), childbirth, heart attack (AMI), congestive heart failure (CHF), sepsis, osteoarthritis, pneumonia, complication of a device, implant or graft, and respiratory failure were the top 10 of a list of 20 health conditions that cost the nation the most in hospital charges in 2006 - to the tune of 52% of the total national hospital bill. Bills to private insurance included back pain and complications of surgical procedures or medical care in their top 10; Medicare had Stroke and cardiac dysrhythmias in their top ten; Medicaid included schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorders; and the uninsured included skin infections, major injuries and fractures, & diabetes hospitalization. 12-page Statistical Brief #59 by AHRQ uses 2006 HCUP data; released September 2008

Arthritis and Obesity Among Baby Boomers

Study identified obese people as approximately 60 percent more likely to develop arthritis than those who weren't overweight (2002), and that arthritis is the number one cause of workplace disability. Arthritis Foundation article published in AJPH, Sept. 2005

Hospital Comparison Tool - Hospital Ratings & Cost Rankings (all states)  

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of New Mexico makes this Hospital Comparison Tool from HealthShare (WebMD) available to compare hospital care ANYWHERE in the country, mostly using Medicare data. No registration required. Gives results according to the importance you give to survival, complication rates, costs, volume and length of stay. Provides rankings, and crosses state lines when doing the search. Considerable detail on different types of complications if you keep delving deeper. Disease categories include Cancer, GI (e.g., appendectomy, colon or bowel surgery, gall bladder, hernia repair, gastric bypass), gynecology (e.g. hysterectomy), stroke (under head & neck), heart (e.g. attack, failure, angioplasty, cardiac bypass, catheterization, defibrillator, pacemaker, valve), lungs (e.g. pneumonia, COPD), medical, mother & baby (maternity, delivery for selected states only), orthopedic (e.g. hip or knee replacement), pediatric, prostatectomy, plastic/cosmetic surgery and heart, kidney, lung or liver transplants. Caution: it always assumes higher volume is preferred, which may not be valid. Patient satisfaction scores from the federal HospitalCompare tool shown, without disclosing dates.

Oklahoma - Average Hospital Inpatient Charges, 2007

Find the average charge (closest available to inpatient cost) for a hospital stay by Principal Diagnosis (i.e., disease) or DRG. Statewide or county-specific statistics on volume and average length of stay also found in this dataset. May specify data for a certain age group and sex. Geared to researchers and health care professionals, rather than for consumers. If this website was meant for consumers, it would get the User-Unfriendly Award. 2007 data are the most recent available from the OK State Dept. of Health's Health Care Information

usnews.com Best Hospitals 2009: Rheumatology Rankings

Twenty-five hospitals identified by using reputation scores only in this US News & World Report list. Physician response rate (sample of board-certified rheumatologists) was 46%. Top of the list: Johns Hopkins and Cleveland Clinic

Vermont - Compare Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2009 (pdf)

Compare Blue Cross Blue Shield of VT, CIGNA, MVP, and The Vermont Health Plan, on consumer and patient experiences; how well the plans do cancer screening, flu shot and other immunizations, antibiotic use in kids, prenatal care, asthma & bronchitis care, mental health treatment, back pain evaluation, blood pressure mgmt, alcohol dependence, arthritis and COPD care. State BISHCA report by Dept. of Banking, Insurance uses 2009 CAHPS and 2008 HEDIS data; 11 pages

Vermont - Hospital Outpatient Surgery Prices, 2008 (pdf)  

Compare average gross charge (the closest you will get to average cost) for most common outpatient surgical procedures at 14 general hospitals in VT. Prices for procedures such as colonoscopy ($1859 state average, with low of $1255 at Porter Hospital to high of $2816 at North Country), colon polyp removal ($2409 average), cataract surgery (average $4575), endoscopy (stomach endoscopy prices range from $1356 at Southwestern to $3313 at Fletcher Allen), fetal monitoring (average $596), knee cartilage surgery ($5400 average), shoulder surgery, gall bladder removal (average $9353, range $7279 to $20,093 for laparoscopy), breast biopsy (avg. $3068), other biopsies, ear tubes (average $2293), cardiac catheterization (avg. $8271), tonsillectomy (about $4400), nerve block, bunion removal (range $4383 to $10,304), D & C ($3849) and many more procedures; 12-month avg. charges ending Sept. 30, 2008. As with all of Vermont's reports, the font size is about as small as you can get. Nonetheless, Editor's Pick

Virginia - Compare HMOs (Quality and Satisfaction)  

Easy to use tool to compare insurance plan ratings: Aetna, CapitalCare, CareFirst BlueChoice, CIGNA, HealthKeepers, Kaiser Mid-Atlantic, MD IPA, Optima, Optimum Choice, Peninsula, Piedmont, Priority, Southern, UnitedHealthcare including River Valley. Choose measures for access, asthma, ADHD, heart, diabetes, arthritis, immunizations, medications, mental health, preventive care, low back pain, spirometry for COPD, prenatal, maternity and newborn care; well child visits and childhood illnesses, member satisfaction for 2007. Also includes Board certification rates for some types of physicians, number of enrollees, and financial data