The group hired an outside firm to analyze 2012 Medicare charges for device-intensive procedures, then compare the variation in those overall hospital charges to the variation in the costs of other admissions. The study found that the cost variation between highest and lowest quartiles for medical device-intensive procedures with 59 percentage points, which was lower than the 72-percentage-point variation found with other admissions. “This new study affirms that medical devices are not driving variations in hospital charges,” AdvaMed President and CEO Stephen Ubl said.
REFERENCE: AdvaMed 10/29/13 Smart Brief