In May 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released CMS Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) inpatient data that contain discharge information for 100% of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries using hospital inpatient services. This data shows what more than 3,200 hospitals in the United States were being paid for the most frequently performed 100 inpatient procedures. The variations were extraordinary. Some hospitals in the New York State were being paid 40 times as much as the world-famous Mayo clinic for some treatments. This kind of variation is understandably a huge cause of concern at a time when health care costs are widely seen to be spinning out of control.
