Indy hospitals charge 'excess' prices, study says

The Big 3 automakers spent 35 percent more in the Indianapolis area to provide healthcare for workers and non-elderly retirees than they did in other auto-heavy cities—and two-thirds of that difference can be blamed on "excess prices" by Indianapolis hospitals. That's the conclusion of an extensive analysis released this month by the Center for Studying Health System Change and the National Institute for Health Care Reform. The findings of the study, released Feb. 15, show that General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC paid an average of $7,900 per Indianapolis-area worker to cover healthcare expenses. Of the $2,100 difference between Indianapolis and its peers, roughly $1,400 was due to higher prices by hospitals.