Variation in hospital and surgeon payments for general vs orthopedic procedures

Editor's Note

Hospital and surgeon payments for routine general and orthopedic surgical procedures vary greatly, this study finds.

Hospital payments averaged $12,744 for general surgery procedures and $22,386 for orthopedic procedures.

Orthopedic surgeon reimbursement on average was twice as high as general surgeon payments ($2,349 vs $1,191).

Postoperative complications resulted in an increase in hospital payments by 25% and surgeon payment by 11%.

Though there was significant variability at the surgeon level, hospital payments were responsible for the highest variability, the authors say.

Comparative data on surgeon payments for operative procedures are not well documented. We sought to assess variations in surgeon payments after common general and orthopedic operations using a nationally representative sample of privately insured patients.