Pricey hip, knee surgery no guarantee of better results

UIG | Getty Images

You often don't get what you pay for—at least when it comes to hip- or knee-replacement surgeries.

A new study of 2,750 hospitals across the U.S. found a staggering disparity between what the hospitals officially charge for hip- and knee-replacement surgeries before any insurance adjustments.

One low-volume hospital in California officially charges a whopping $223,373 for such surgeries, while a high-volume hospital in Akron charges just $15,465, according to a survey by the NerdWallet Health cost-comparison Web site.

And hospitals that performed more than 200 of those surgeries annually tended to have lower rates of patients readmitted for complications such as infections than hospitals that did fewer procedures, the survey found.

Those high-volume hospitals also tend to charge less for those surgeries than hospitals that did 25 or fewer per year.

Despite that, hospitals that do less than 25 of those surgeries per year officially charge 14 percent more than that ones that do 200 or more such procedures, the survey found.

And those low-volume hospitals are compensated by Medicare for those surgeries at a rate that is 9 percent higher than what Medicare pays the high-volume hospitals.

"The price doesn't really tell you a whole lot about the quality you're going to receive," said Christina LaMontagne, author of the NerdWallet Health report.

(Learn More: NerdWallet Health's Hospital Quality and Cost Comparison Tool)

She said that "if I were looking into surgery for my mom or dad, I would want them to go to a place that has a very high value," instead of relying on ones with a high-price tag.

And, she noted, "If you visit hospitals that perform more than 200 of these surgeries (annually) you are at less risk of serious infections, heart problems and complications like blood clots, pneumonia and death" following hip- and knee-replacement surgery. Just one in four hospitals perform that volume of surgeries.

Ceci Connolly, managing director of PwC's Health Research Institute, said that over many years, in many different procedures, "We have learned that practice makes perfect in medicine."

"And there have been a number of experts and medical societies and data that have really tried to send the message to patients that when you are thinking about where to go and get your care, that you should take a look at which doctors and which health systems have the most experience with those procedures," said Connolly, who was not involved in the NerdWallet research.

Top 10 hospitals for high quality and low price

Hospital Name

City

State

Patients
Treated

Hospital
Charges