Two Virginia Health Systems In Top Five Nationally for Cost Efficiency

by James C. Sherlock

Becker’s Hospital review reports:

“Lynchburg, Va.-based Centra Health is the most cost-efficient health system in the U.S., according to a ranking from the Lown Institute, a nonpartisan healthcare think tank.”

Also on the list of the top 20 is Inova Health of Falls Church at number 5.  No surprise there.

So what is cost-efficiency and how is it measured by Lown Institute?

The cost efficiency metric is a ratio of a health system’s mortality rates compared to its Medicare costs. Health systems with the lowest mortality and the lowest costs received the best scores in cost efficiency. For mortality, the Lown Institute used risk-standardized 30- and 90-day mortality for Medicare patients hospitalized between 2016 and 2018. For cost, the organization used 30- and 90-day total risk-standardized Medicare payments for patients hospitalized in 2016 to 2018.

Cedars-Sinai, Johns-Hopkins, Mayo, Houston Methodist, Beth Israel, and New York Presbyterian are among the top names. Cone Health in Greensboro, a former Sentara takeover target, is number 19 on the list.

For Centra to lead that list is a major accomplishment. People in the Lynchburg area should be thankful.


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Comments

10 responses to “Two Virginia Health Systems In Top Five Nationally for Cost Efficiency”

  1. vicnicholls Avatar
    vicnicholls

    Capt – were you named to GE Youngkins’ team? I saw a James Sherlock.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      How many can there be? Natural & Historic Resources? Preserving Confederate monuments, perhaps?

      1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        James and Andrew Wheeler… hoo boy!!

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Maybe it’s a different Wheeler? It is a fairly common name.

          1. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Well, coal again. Tailings in my soup.

    2. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      Yes. Natural and Historic Resources is responsible for flood mitigation, environmental quality, wildlife conservation, marine resources and historic resources policies among other things. Honored to help.

      1. dave schutz Avatar
        dave schutz

        Flood mitigation… you are suddenly going to have a LOT of friends in Arlington and Alexandria!

  2. Centra Health shows there is something to learn from small-to-midsized hospital systems. I would note that Centra resulted from the merger of competing hospitals some 20 or more years ago. I wonder if it qualifies as a monopoly, and if it has been using COPN to fend off competition. Likewise, Inova exercises near-monopoly powers in Northern Virginia.

    1. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      Centra does indeed qualify as a monopoly in the Lynchburg area. It is in fact protected from competition by COPN.

      Inova is also a monopoly, but has model corporate governance and runs the best-performing hospital system in the state. Also protected by COPN from serious competition.

      But both are much better corporate citizens that you-know-who.

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