RT Journal
A1 Linquist PR
T1 HOspital services in the united states and canada
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 1998
FD August 19
VO 280
IS 7
SP 599
OP 600
DO 10-1001/pubs.JAMA-ISSN-0098-7484-280-7-jbk0819
UL http://dx.doi.org/10-1001/pubs.JAMA-ISSN-0098-7484-280-7-jbk0819
AB 
To the Editor.—The cost comparison of hospital costs in Canada vs the United States by Dr Bell and colleagues1 has a major flaw. Most nongovernmental hospitals in the United States have a multitiered pricing system. The highest level would likely be quoted with a telephone inquiry if a person were paying on a cash basis. The average actual reimbursement for all payers in the United States would likely be 30% to 60% lower than the high-level cash-basis quotation (Michael Laidlaw, Mills-Peninsula Hospitals, oral communication, July 15, 1998).