Costs in United States and Canadian Hospitals. Abstract and Final Report

摘要

The purpose of this grant was to decompose and quantify the sources of 40 percentgreater cost per person at US compared with Canadian hospitals. Preliminary work for the elderly showed that the difference in cost was in case mix adjusted cost per stay. The cost difference stemmed from several sources: a modest difference in case mix; more care in intensive care units; higher administrative costs; an older capital plant in Canada; and greater use of non-nursing, non-technician personnel in the United States. The difference is not attributable to higher wages in the US; if anything, hospital wages are higher in Canada.