An article published on December 15 in the New York Times took aim at the wide disparity in costs for echocardiography exams in the U.S., suggesting that the variance is an example of why healthcare costs are so high.
Titled "The odd math of medical tests: One scan, two prices, both high," the article sought to explain some of the dynamics behind rising healthcare costs in the U.S. One example was a New Jersey resident who had two echo exams, one that cost $1,500 at an academic medical center in Boston and another that cost $5,500 at a community hospital in New Jersey.
Such disparities are the product of the U.S. healthcare system, where pricing has "become uncoupled from the actual cost of doing business." The story noted how other countries have regulators that set the price of medical tests to levels that include built-in profit for providers.
In comparison, echo ultrasound scanners are "good investments" for entrepreneurial cardiology practices because they are relatively cheap (compared with systems such as MRI scanners). What's more, the more scanners there are in a region, the higher prices are -- in spite of the oft-stated presupposition that increased competition will drive down prices.
"Testing has become to the United States' medical system what liquor is to the hospitality industry: a profit center with large and often arbitrary markups," the article stated.
