Laparoscopic and open appendectomies--average charges, 1997.

During 1997 the average total charge for an open appendectomy (OA) was $9,670 while that for a laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) was $11,290. The 20 study states (those with 50 or more OAs) accounted for 77 percent of the 2,979 OA procedures investigated. The total charges ranged from $12,800 in California to $6,540 in Oklahoma. The hospital charges were more than 30 percent higher than the U.S. norm in California and Florida and more than 30 percent below it in Oklahoma and Washington. New York and New Jersey reported the highest physicians' fees while the Michigan doctors' charges were 35 percent below the average. Length of stay for an open appendectomy averaged 2.92 days across the country and ranged from 3.33 days in New York to 2.33 days in Colorado. The hospital plus physicians' charges for LAs ranged from $14,350 in California (27 percent above the norm) to $9,210 in Colorado (18 percent below). California and Florida reported the highest hospital charges whereas those in New York were the lowest. The physicians' fees ranged from $4,280 in New York to $1,830 in Colorado. The patients with LAs remained in the hospital, on average, 2.22 days. The length of stay ranged from almost three days in Ohio to 1.62 days in Colorado.