Second CMS Data Release Confirms Unexplained Variability in Sticker Prices and Steady Cost Increases

CMS' Second Data Release Confirms Unexplained Variability in Sticker Prices and Steady Cost Increases, CHIDS researchers find. Recently, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services released data containing provider charges (i.e. sticker prices) and payments for FY 2012. This data was first released for FY 2011, and received substantial media attention due to the large variability of sticker prices, especially among nearby providers. We compared the trends from 2012 to those from 2011, and found that the variability in sticker prices was very similar across both years. Furthermore, we find that the average increase in sticker prices between the two years is approximately 5%, which is very close to the projected health care inflation rate (4.9%). Read the full blog post here.