Explanation of Numbers in Slide 7 in CHT Numbers Handout

Secretary Mike Leavitt needed two sleep apnea machines. When he tried to purchase them through his insurance company, he was told that he could only buy one at $950.  Being a good consumer, Secretary Leavitt did research on the internet and found the exact same machine at a lower price: on the internet he could buy two of the machines for $750 with a $150 co-payment. When he called his called insurance company with this discovery, they insisted he would need to purchase the one machine at $950 with a $190 co-payment.

At the same hospital in Washington, DC a colonoscopy (inpatient) from one doctor costs $6,750 while from another it costs $5,750. In Utah at Intermountain Healthcare a colonoscopy costs $3,300 (inpatient) and $950 (outpatient).

Congressman Paul Ryan found that in the same city the price for the same medical procedure ranges from $46,000 – $103,000.

In Iowa the average cost to insure a family of four is $3,300. In New Jersey the average cost to ensure a family of four is $14,300.

Insuring a family of four is three times more expensive in Maine than in New Hampshire.