In particular, there was wide variation across hospitals in payments for facility fees and professional services (Fig); 34% of patients had a hospital stay of >1 day. Each additional day of hospitalization after CEA represents an incremental cost of as much as $5461. Conclusions: There is tremendous variation in payments after both asymptomatic and symptomatic CEA. Much of this variation can be explained by differences in base facility payments and professional services (eg, intensive care unit care, nursing care, consultations), but more than one-third of patients have a prolonged length of stay attributable to an additional cost of as much as $5461 per day. As providers and payers target value, increased attention to pathways of care and prompt discharge will be imperative to optimize value.
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