On February 24, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association released a study promoting the use of outpatient surgery for certain services, including lumbar spine surgeries.

Click here to read the Association’s release regarding the study, “How Consumers Are Saving with the Shift to Outpatient Care.”

KEY FINDINGS: Patients who utilized outpatient procedures saved money in 2014:

$320 on average for lumbar/spine surgeries
$483 for hysterectomies
$924 for gallbladder removals
$1,062 for angioplasties

Total average costs for consumers, payers and employers in 2014 also went down when shifting to the outpatient setting:

$4,505 per hysterectomy
$8,475 per lumbar/spine surgery
$11,262 per gallbladder removal
$17,530 per angioplasty