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Kerri Miller and Marcheta Fornoff

How much will that hospital procedure cost you? Depends where you go

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How much will a knee replacement cost you?

The unsatisfying answer is that it depends on where you go.

In Minnesota, some patients were charged $6,186 for a knee replacement, while the same procedure cost others nearly eight times more — or $46,974.

A report from the Minnesota Department of Health found a wide range in the prices that Minnesota hospitals charge for a variety of common procedures.

Minnesota is not the only state where hospital prices for the same procedure vary, but it is ranked as one of the most expensive.

MPR News host Kerri Miller spoke with three guests about the varying cost of healthcare in Minnesota and across the nation: Stefan Gildemeister, state health economist for Minnesota; Dr. Renee Hsia, the director of health policy studies in the department of emergency medicine at UCSF; and Julie Sonier, president of MN Community Measurement.

Use the audio player above to hear the full discussion.