Study Aims to Rank America’s Most Cost-Efficient Hospitals

A health care think tank said it has identified America’s most cost-efficient hospitals.

The Lown Institute, based in Boston, said it examined more than 3,000 hospitals in its study. The institute said it examined how much Medicare billed and compared that to patient deaths, both 30 days and 90 days after admission.

The institute said if all hospitals were showing the same strategies as the nation’s 750 most cost-effective hospitals, Medicare would save $8 billion annually.

Looking at hospitals with average 30-day mortality rates, the institute said costs per patient ranged from $9,000 to $27,000. Some hospitals cost thousands more than other institutions of the same type, size and location, the study found.

“If we want to keep costs low for the Medicare program and provide quality care for the 60 million Americans who depend on it, hospitals must be as efficient as possible,” Vikas Saini, M.D., president of the Lown Institute, said in a news release. “The best hospitals prove that you can save Medicare dollars and deliver great patient outcomes at the same time.”

Lown examined hospitals in a host of categories, evaluating their clinical outcomes, value, community benefit, equity and patient satisfaction.

The study was released Nov. 9. Here are the 10 most cost-efficient hospitals, according to the Lown Institute analysis.

1. Pinnacle Hospital, Crown Point, Ind.
2. St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Reno, Nev.
3. Mercy Medical Center Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa
4. Encino Hospital Medical Center, Encino, Calif.
5. Park Ridge Health, Hendersonville, N.C.
6. Oroville Hospital, Oroville, Calif.
7. St. Michael’s Medical Center, Newark, N.J.
8. UnityPoint Health – Meriter, Madison, Wisc.
9. East Liverpool City Hospital, East Liverpool, Ohio
10. Maple Grove Hospital, Maple Grove, Minn.