Hospitals in New Mexico on average charge 547 percent the actual cost of performing medical services for outpatients, and 223 percent the actual cost of services provided to inpatients, according to analysis by The New Mexican of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data. One for-profit hospital chain was responsible for the highest sticker prices, nearing 900 percent markups for outpatients and topping 475 percent for inpatients. This report exposed how those seemingly arbitrary prices affect patients with commercial insurance as well as uninsured patients, and the role pricing plays in hospitals’ charitable status, which can shift local tax burdens to other taxpayers.
