Big differences in US healthcare costs for fixing back pain

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/wkh-bdi090115.php

Public Release: 1-Sep-2015
Big differences in US healthcare costs for fixing back pain
Wolters Kluwer Health

Costs for spinal fusion vary substantially by region, with costs being lowest in the Midwest and highest in the Northeast, according to the new research by Dr. W. Ryan Spiker and colleagues of University of Utah, Salt Lake City. They write, "This data sheds light on the actual cost of common surgeries throughout the United States, and will allow further progress towards the development of cost effective, value driven care."

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Average national costs were about $14,000 for a single-level ACDF procedure and $26,000 for a single-level PLF. (These total figures reflected combined professional and facility costs.) Average cost for KA was about $13,000, increasing to $22,000 for TKA in patients with accompanying other major medical conditions.

"Each procedure had a significant range in cost across the country," Dr. Spiker and coauthors write. Costs for ACDF ranged from about $11,000 to $25,000, while PLF costs ranged from $20,000 to $37,000. For TKA patients without major medical conditions, the range was from about $11,000 to $19,000.

All procedures except ACDF also showed significant variations on the regional level--with the lowest costs in the Midwest and highest costs in the Northeast. For PLF, costs ranged from $24,000 in the Midwest to $28,000 in the Northeast. The figures were $12,000 versus $14,000 for primary TKA, and $21,000 versus $25,000 for TKA with major medical conditions.

On the state level, total costs for all four procedures were significantly correlated with the state's cost of living index, but not with state population.

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