Medicare
Comparative Analyses of Payments for Selected Hospital Services Gao ID: HRD-90-108 July 6, 1990Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed hospital costs and revenues in order to: (1) compare Medicare and Medicaid payments for similar inpatient hospital services in California, New York, and Ohio; and (2) analyze differences in Medicare payments and costs for similar inpatient hospital services in those states.
GAO found that: (1) in 1987, Medicare paid about $48 billion to approximately 6,700 hospitals for inpatient services provided to Medicare beneficiaries; (2) hospitals in all three states were paid a greater percentage of billed charges for treating Medicare beneficiaries than for treating Medicaid enrollees; (3) the Medicare cost per discharge among New York hospitals was lower than among those in California and Ohio; and (4) Medicare paid more than Medicaid for inpatient hospital services.