Prime Healthcare Receives Highest Ranking for Cost Efficiency in the Nation

• Prime Healthcare is among the top 10 most cost-efficient health systems in the nation, according to the Lown Institute
• The Cost Efficiency metric measures how well hospitals achieve excellent patient outcomes at the lowest costs
• First-ever ranking examines costs at 3,000 hospitals, and concludes that if all hospitals matched the performance of the country’s most-efficient, there would be $8 billion in Medicare savings each year

Prime Healthcare, which operates 45 hospitals in 14 states, ranked among the top 10 health systems in the nation for cost efficiency, according to the Lown Institute. Prime hospitals also ranked among the best with five hospitals among the top 20. The Lown Institute Hospitals Index is the first ranking to evaluate cost efficiency for more than 3,000 U.S. hospitals. The Cost Efficiency metric measures how well hospitals achieve excellent outcomes at a low cost to Medicare.

The five Prime hospitals ranked among the 25 most cost efficient in the nation include Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Reno, NV (#2); Encino Hospital Medical Center, Encino, CA. (#4); East Liverpool City Hospital, East Liverpool, OH (#9); Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Inglewood, CA (#19), and Desert Valley Hospital, Victorville, CA (#23).

The study analyzed data from more than 3,000 hospitals, looking at how much Medicare was billed and comparing that to how many patients died, both 30 and 90 days from admission.

“The best hospitals prove that you can save Medicare dollars and deliver great patient outcomes at the same time,” said Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute. “If we want to keep costs low for the Medicare program and provide quality care for the 60 million Americans who depend on it, hospitals must be as efficient as possible.”

Among hospitals with average 30-day mortality rates, costs ranged from $9,000 to $27,000 per patient. The study shows that if all hospitals matched the performance of the country’s most cost-efficient hospitals, there would be $8 billion in Medicare savings each year.

The Institute tracked Medicare patients hospitalized from 2016-2018 using claims data and adjusted both mortality rates and cost based on patient risk. Total Medicare cost included claims from inpatient hospitalizations and post-discharge claims (hospice, skilled nursing facilities, etc). Hospitals with the lowest mortality rates and lowest costs received the best scores on cost efficiency.

In September, Prime Healthcare, one of the largest and only physician-founded and physician-led health systems in the nation, earned "A" grades in the Lown Institute Index for Social Responsibility, placing Prime among the top five healthcare systems in the nation in equity, value and outcomes.

“Prime Healthcare’s physician-led and patient-centered model were created to drive value, clinical outcomes and health equity for all patients,” said Sunny Bhatia, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Prime Healthcare. “Value-based, community healthcare is fundamental to our mission. We are honored that our hospitals are recognized for cost efficiency, social responsibility and clinical excellence, and thank our staff and physicians for being stewards of our mission to ensure communities have hospitals that provide the highest quality, affordable care to all.”

Founded in 1973 by Nobel Peace Prize winner Bernard Lown, MD, developer of the defibrillator and cardioverter, the Lown Institute believes that a radically better system of health is possible and generates bold ideas towards that goal.