Abstract 16653: Assessment of Price Variation for TAVR and SAVR Procedures Across US Hospitals

Abstract

Introduction Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) has become a mainstay of aortic stenosis treatment, alongside Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement (SAVR). Despite their widespread use, little is known about their commercial cost burden as this data was confidential prior to the 2021 Federal Price Transparency Final Rule. Using newly available pricing data, we aimed to compare hospital variation in TAVR and SAVR prices and describe factors predictive of prices. Methods Prices for DRG 267 (TAVR) and 220 (SAVR) were extracted from the Turquoise Health database and linked to hospital characteristics using Medicare IDs. Price variation within and across hospitals was assessed by calculating the ratio between the 90th and 10th percentile commercial or hospital rates, respectively. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to test for associations between price and categorical factors. Results 1116 hospitals reported prices for TAVR and 1215 hospitals reported prices for SAVR. Commercial prices for TAVR ($70,482) and SAVR ($66,629) were 1.83 and 1.77x the Medicare price. Within hospitals, the 90th percentile payer-negotiated TAVR price was 1.80x the 10th percentile price, while across hospitals, the 90th percentile hospital by median commercial price was 3.40x the 10th percentile price. This was similar for SAVR. Several factors were associated with higher prices, including major teaching status (TAVR $17,736 and SAVR $19,057 vs non-teaching). For-profit status and investor-ownership were associated with lower prices. While higher hospital-wide readmission rates and higher hospital ratings were associated with higher prices, there was no significant association with hospital-wide mortality. Conclusion This analysis demonstrates substantial markups for TAVR and SAVR commercial prices and significant variation both within and between hospitals associated with teaching status, hospital ratings, and readmissions but not hospital mortality.