‘Tremendous implications’: Hospital affiliation linked to higher-cost care (Healio)

A new analysis has revealed striking cost disparities tied to physician practice affiliation. For the same high-volume procedures across cardiology, gastroenterology, orthopedics, and urology, hospital outpatient departments emerged as the most expensive sites of care—sometimes exceeding costs in ambulatory surgery centers or physician offices by over 1,000%. Independent and private equity-affiliated physicians were far more likely to treat patients in lower-cost settings, while hospital-based doctors consistently gravitated toward higher-cost environments.