More hip and knee surgeries are driving up costs

• The average price of the procedures rose by 6% for knee replacements and 5% for hip replacements over the same time period.
• Both procedures are significantly cheaper if they're performed in an outpatient setting than in an inpatient setting, although in 2017 only 11% of knee procedures and 8% of hip procedures were performed on an outpatient basis.

Between the lines: Overall health care spending increases in the U.S. are driven mainly by prices, not utilization, making these procedures a deviation from the trend.

Yes, but: The price of knee and hip replacements vary drastically based on location, as the BSBCA found in a previous report.

Go deeper:

• Hospital prices are all over the board
• Even hospitals don’t know what surgeries cost