DETROIT — The Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) has launched a Web site at www.MIHospitalInform.org that allows people to compare prices of the most common procedures at each of the state's 146 nonprofit hospitals.

The site is a joint effort by the MHA and 146 nonprofit community hospitals to provide consumers with an opportunity to review charge, payment, and quality information for hospitals in Michigan, thereby providing more transparency in health care pricing.

"Public accountability has long been a guiding principle for Michigan hospitals," a statement on the site reads. "We recognize the need for public pricing and quality information to assist consumers in making more informed health care decisions. This Web site is a voluntary effort by Michigan hospitals to help consumers become more empowered in their decision making regarding their personal health."

Available information includes:

• the top 50 Medicare inpatient procedures for the selected hospital (average hospital charges, average payments, length of stay, total number of patients);
• the top 50 Medicare outpatient procedures for the selected hospital (average hospital charges, average payments, total number of patients);
• Medicare pricing information on specific inpatient procedures for all hospitals (average hospital charges, average payments, total number of patients); and
• quality data on surgical infections and the most common causes of hospitalization (heart attack, congestive heart failure, pneumonia).

Due to data limitations, the site currently contains only publicly available Medicare inpatient and outpatient charge and payment data and quality data from Hospital Compare, a Web site created through the efforts of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

More background information about the site can be found in a Dec. 17, 2007 Detroit News article available online at www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/
LIFESTYLE03/712170345&imw=Y).

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last updated: 01/17/08

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