Worcester Among Cities with Fastest Medical Costs Growth in America

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Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Patrick Sargent, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Over the course of three years, 230 cities in America saw an increase in their average hospital costs.

Patients of hospitals in Worcester saw an 11 percent increase in their medical costs. According to a study by Betterdoctor.com, that increase ranks Worcester fourth in the United States of cities with the fastest medical costs growth.

In her report, Cities Where Medical Costs are Rising the Fastest, Andrea D’Eramo states that “Skyrocketing medical costs are a huge problem in the US. Multiple studies show that in comparison to other developed countries in the world, the US spends the most on healthcare per person, but we have some of the lowest-quality, least-accessible care – on top of leading generally unhealthy lives.”

SEE BELOW: The Top 10 Cities with Highest Medical Costs Growth

The study, based on data from the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2011 thru 2013, took the average cost of each hospital procedure in every city, combined that cost, and then averaged the growth or decline from each hospital to find each city’s overall cost change.

Worcester finds itself behind three other cities - Canton and Kettering, OH and Springfield, MA - and one spot ahead of Boston (10.31% increase). The three MA cities are all in the top five and, other than Manchester, NH (+7.06%) - are the sole representatives of the New England states.

The report uses the cost of treating psychoses at Massachusetts General Hospital as the primary example of dramatic cost increase in the state. According to the data, the cost for psychoses treatment jumped 78% in two years at MGH. In 2011, the average cost for an inpatient psychoses diagnosis was $34,180. Two years later, the hospital charged an average of $60,955 for the same treatment.

“The fact is Massachusetts patients are paying more for their healthcare than almost everywhere else in the country. And we are providing some of the worst care in the country,” said MNA’s Director of Public Communications, David Schildmeier. “More of our patients are more likely to be readmitted for things like heart failure, strokes, and things that should’ve been taken care of while they were in the hospital.”

Schildmeier believes that costs are rising because hospitals are stashing the money in offshore accounts and paying enormous salaries to CEOs. “Instead of sending that money to the Cayman Islands, they could be improving the conditions of the hospitals with better support staff at patients’ bedsides and getting the care they deserve. Again, patients are paying more and getting very bad outcomes," said Schildmeier.

As GoLocalWorcester reported last week, Massachusetts hospitals have the highest rate of preventable catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) in the U.S. hospitals in the Bay State have a standardized infection ratio for catheter-associated urinary tract of 1.696 - the highest in the country.

Schildmeier said, “A lot of it is due to understaffing - cut backs on support staff, cut backs on nursing staff. So you’re paying more and getting less. In fact, at Marlborough hospital, the nurses were told at one point that they were expected to do less with less. It’s been a problem for a number of years and now it’s just airing out. The message to the public is if you’re paying more than anyone else in the country, then you should expect the best care in the country.”

Top 10 Cities with Highest Medical Costs Growth:

• 1. Canton, Ohio (+39.29%)
• 2. Springfield, Massachusetts (+18.42%)
• 3. Kettering, Ohio (+12.36%)
• 4. Worcester, Massachusetts (+11.26%)
• 5. Boston, Massachusetts (+10.31%)
• 6. New Orleans, Louisiana (+10.02%)
• 7. Odessa, Texas (+9.39%)
• 8. Tyler, Texas (+9.18%)
• 9. Wichita Falls, Texas (+8.73%)
• 10. Charlottesville, Virginia (+8.64%)

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