Ridiculous Study of the Week: Costs at Hospital Outpatient Settings Cost More

As if no one knew this:

Where people receive health care matters, especially in terms of costs. The same services may have a much higher price tag when performed in one setting rather than another, but this price difference is rarely publicized to patients. To understand what settings people used and how prices differed, we looked at the utilization and average price paid from 2009 to 2017 for a set of services commonly performed in both physician office and outpatient settings. We found that:

– The share of these services performed in the outpatient setting increased between 2009 and 2017. 

– For this set of services, the average price was always higher in an outpatient setting than an office setting.

I answer them with a sincere “no shit, Sherlock”.

Let the free market work and this all goes away.

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