title: Measuring Prices in Health Care Markets Using Commercial Claims Data.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare methods of price measurement in health care markets.
  
  
  METHODS
  Truven Health Analytics MarketScan commercial claims.
  
  
  METHODS
  We constructed medical prices indices using three approaches: (1) a "sentinel" service approach based on a single common service in a specific clinical domain, (2) a market basket approach, and (3) a spending decomposition approach. We constructed indices at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level and estimated correlations between and within them.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Price indices using a spending decomposition approach were strongly and positively correlated with indices constructed from broad market baskets of common services (r > 0.95). Prices of single common services exhibited weak to moderate correlations with each other and other measures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Market-level price measures that reflect broad sets of services are likely to rank markets similarly. Price indices relying on individual sentinel services may be more appropriate for examining specialty- or service-specific drivers of prices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Hannah T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Neprash
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Chernew
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: J Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: McWilliams
mesh_terms: D003132:Commerce / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D006296:Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007345:Insurance Claim Review / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018803:Models, Economic; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D014481:United States
keywords: Health care finance; MarketScan Research Data; medical price indices; quantitative methods