IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: New Study Finds Hospitals Charge Nearly Two Times More Than Physician Offices for Same Cancer Treatments

WASHINGTON – New research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) has concluded that payments from private third-party payers for infused cancer medicines are, on average, twice as much when care is provided in hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) compared with physician offices (POs). In fact, the findings demonstrate that on a medication- by-medication basis, HOPDs charged up to 4.3 times more than physician offices for the same cancer treatment. Notably, the disparity is due to hospital pricing practices and not the quality of care provided or progression of the disease, according to the issue brief.