Xiao Xu and colleagues of the Yale School of Medicine analyzed variation in hospital costs associated with nearly 275,000 low-risk childbirths and found the average estimated hospital facility cost per maternity stay ranged from $1,189 to $11,986 among 463 hospitals across the country. Using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, they found that hospitals with higher rates of caesarean delivery or serious maternal morbidity had significantly higher costs.
The authors note that the variation in costs among low-risk childbirths suggests potential large differences in hospital practices, indicating there are likely opportunities for savings-including safely reducing caesarean deliveries, increasing care coordination and emphasizing value through new payment and delivery system reforms. With nearly four million US births per year, childbirth is the country's leading cause of hospitalization, suggesting that there are significant cost containment opportunities.
Study: Wide Variation Found In Hospital Facility Costs For Maternity Stays Involving Low-Risk Childbirth, Xiao Xu, Aileen Gariepy, Lisbet S. Lundsberg, Sangini S. Sheth, Christian M. Pettker, Harlan M. Krumholz and Jessica L. Illuzzi, Health Affairs, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2014.1088, published July 2015.