Study: Knee replacement costs here vary widely
The Philadelphia region has a reputation for high-cost health care, but a national Blue Cross Blue Shield study of cost variations for knee and hip replacements found that the average amounts Independence Blue Cross paid were right around the national averages.
The Philadelphia region has a reputation for high-cost health care, but a national Blue Cross Blue Shield study of cost variations for knee and hip replacements found that the average amounts Independence Blue Cross paid were right around the national averages.
Where Philadelphia stood out was in the difference between the cheapest knee replacement ($17,659) and the most expensive ($46,461). That 163 percent difference ranked fourth among the 64 markets studied.
IBC's 112 percent difference between the lowest ($21,491) and highest ($45,560) payments for hip replacements ranked eighth nationally.
The average amount IBC paid for knee replacements performed in the three years ended July 2013 was $30,565 - 1.8 percent less than the national average. IBC payments for hip replacements averaged $31.067, 3 percent more than the national average.
- Harold Brubaker