Kada Health Recognizes 22 Hospitals as National Leaders for Care Quality & Affordability

Kada Health, a healthcare management, turnaround, and consulting firm, is pleased to recognize a select group of 22 high-performing U.S. hospitals for their unique positions as leaders in both care quality and affordability.

Kada Health identified these exceptional organizations using the work completed by U.S. News & World Report recognizing the nation’s best hospitals and by the RAND Corporation reporting prices paid for care. To be acknowledged as a top performer by Kada Health, hospitals must rank in one or more adult medical specialties according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-2025 Best Hospitals Survey and provide care to the commercially insured patient population for prices that are equal to, or less than, 200% of the Medicare fee schedule.

According to Shane Cerone, CEO of Kada Health, hospital prices vary widely across and within states.

“When you look at the RAND data, patients with commercial insurance pay, on average, 254% of the prices Medicare would have paid for the same services at the same facilities,” said Cerone. “This is across all hospital inpatient and outpatient services, including both facility and related professional claims. But many pay 300% or more of the Medicare price. That’s why a payment rate less than 200% of Medicare is significant.”

For employers and patients seeking the most advanced medical care at the best possible price for services, the Kada Health report identifies hospitals that excel in both critical areas of performance. The organizations identified by Kada Health demonstrate that the the best hospitals in the U.S. can deliver the highest levels of care much more efficiently than their peers within their markets and around the country.

“We are pleased to recognize these top-performing hospitals for their commitment to clinical excellence and their dedication to providing exceptional care at prices that are significantly lower than the national average,” said Cerone.

2024 Best Hospitals for Care Quality & Affordability

Price as a Key Driver of Assessing Great Healthcare

The cost of healthcare in the United States is the highest in the world.

“The prices patients and employers pay for healthcare represents consumption of critical financial resources,” said Cerone. “These are resources that could otherwise be dedicated to employee salary and non-health benefits, product research and development, or any number of other important economic priorities, at a time when the U.S. is working to reshore certain industries and remain competitive in the global environment.”

For context, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) , the United States spent $12,555 per capita on healthcare in 2022. The second most expensive nation in the developed world, Switzerland, spent $8,049 per capita, a difference of $4,506. If the cost of care in the U.S. were reduced to equal that of Switzerland, the total savings to the U.S. economy would be more than $1.5 trillion in savings. This is nearly enough money to eliminate the 2024 U.S. national deficit of $1.8 trillion and is more than two times the annual U.S. budget for defense. And yet, even if this level of savings were achieved, the U.S. would still spend as much or more per capita than every other developed nation.

“That’s why looking at prices paid for care is necessary to assess the performance of hospitals and health systems,” said Cerone. “As an industry, we talk a lot about quality related to outcomes, and that is critical, but equally important is the cost of services. Our goal is to shine a light on the opportunity to ensure the most advanced, high-quality specialty care is available throughout the U.S. at prices that are substantially lower than what most corporations and Americans pay today.”

“Corporations and self-funded businesses should use this information to design health benefit plans and work in their communities to lower the prices paid for exceptional healthcare,” said Cerone.

Methodology

The Kada Health report was generated by first selecting organizations that were listed as a U.S. News Honor Roll hospital or were ranked among the top 50 hospitals in one or more medical specialties for adult care in any of the following specialties: cancer; cardiology, heart & vascular surgery; diabetes & endocrinology; ear, nose & throat; gastroenterology & GI surgery; geriatrics; obstetrics and gynecology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; pulmonology & lung surgery; rehabilitation; urology. These criteria produced 129 hospitals with unique Medicare provider numbers across the United States. This list of 129 hospitals was then reduced to the top 22 performers who demonstrated an ability to deliver care for prices that were equal to, or less than, 200% of the Medicare fee schedule as published in the “Hospital Price Transparency Study Round 5” and reported by RAND via the “Sage Transparency 2.0” tool offered on their website

About Kada Health

Kada Health offers hospital and health system management services, turnaround leadership, and consulting services to assist hospitals and health systems in improving productivity and optimizing performance and efficiency. Our mission is to ensure exceptional healthcare is affordable and accessible for all Americans. Learn More