The The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announces the release of the 2006 Cost-to-Charge Ratio (CCR) files for use with selected databases available from the Agency’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). The data elements on these files can be merged with the 2006 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), 2006 Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID), and 2006 State Inpatient Databases (SID) disseminated through the HCUP Central Distributor. Using the merged data elements from the CCR files and the total charges reported in the NIS or KID databases, users may convert the hospital total charge data to cost estimates by simply multiplying total charges with the appropriate cost-to-charge ratio. These data are based on the public reported financial accounting data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In addition to hospital-wide estimates of the CCRs for inpatient care, AHRQ has developed more accurate measures for 10 states in 2006 that supply detailed charges by department for each patient discharge. Results of the latter work are provided in Methods Series report #2008-04.

The 2006 NIS, KID, and SID contain uniformly formatted data built around a core set of more than 100 clinical and non-clinical variables for all patient encounters, regardless of payer (i.e., Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, and self-pay). The HCUP databases are limited to information on total hospital charges, which reflect the amount billed to the payer per patient encounter. Total charges do not reflect the actual cost of providing care or the payment received by the hospital for services provided. HCUP data users can convert this total charge data into cost estimates by using the CCR files, which include hospital-wide values of the all-payer inpatient cost-to-charge ratio for nearly every hospital in the corresponding NIS, KID, and SID. Researchers and policy makers can use the converted cost estimates to examine a variety of topics, including use and cost of hospital services, health care cost inflation, and how the cost experiences of a given hospital or health plan compare with national or state trends.

The Cost-to-Charge Ratio files can be ordered free-of-charge from the HCUP Central Distributor. For more information on how to obtain the Cost-to-Charge Ratio files, please visit the HCUP Central Distributor page on the HCUP-US Website, or contact the Central Distributor by e-mail at HCUPDistributor@ahrq.gov.