title: Differences in the cost of health care provided by group practices in Minnesota.
abstract: This article reports the findings of a study designed to identify differences in the cost and quality of care provided by medical group practices in Minnesota. Fifty-three practices that provide services to enrollees of employer-based self-insured health plans were included in the study. Costs adjusted for case mix and payment levels were found to vary from $2,400 to nearly $4,700 per member per year. Quality of care had less variance and was not found to be related to cost. The practices that provided high-quality, low-cost care included both relatively small physician-owned practices and large, multi-clinic systems that also owned hospitals.
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Division of Health Policy and Management, MN, USA.
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Kralewski
authors.forename: Bryan E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Dowd
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D003363:Cost Control / Q000191:economics; D006123:Group Practice / Q000191:economics*; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000191:economics; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008910:Minnesota; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000191:economics*