CompareMaine

Where does this website come from?

The CompareMaine website is a product of the Maine Health Data Organization (MHDO). The MHDO is a state agency that collects healthcare data from health insurance companies and hospitals. In addition, the MHDO is required by Maine State law to collaborate with another State Agency, the Maine Quality Forum (MQF) on promoting the transparency of healthcare cost and quality information via a publicly accessible website.

CompareMaine was originally developed with financial support from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Enhancements have been made over the years with each new release in the content and the volume of information on the website.

Many people provided input to help make CompareMaine a usable, useful tool including the MHDO Board of Directors, the MHDO consumer advisory group, members of industry and medical associations, and technical experts.

Where does the information come from?

The payment data on this site comes from the Maine Health Data Organization’s All-Payer Claims Database (APCD). Over 20 million claims from 29 health insurance plans were reviewed for services in Maine from April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022. The payment estimates do not include claims from public payers (MaineCare and Medicare). After these claims were excluded, a total of 9,654,309 claims from 29 payers remained in analysis to develop the payment estimates.

CompareMaine shows information on over 310 healthcare procedures from 325 facilities organized into 168 facility groups. These facilities include hospitals, physician practices, specialty care centers, labs, and radiological and imaging centers. If you search for a procedure, you may not see every facility listed. That’s because not all facilities perform all procedures. CompareMaine does not include information for a facility that performs a procedure only a few times each year.

CompareMaine reports on seven hospital quality measures:

  1. Patient survey ratings tell how satisfied patients are with the quality of their care overall
  2. How well hospitals prevent complications from procedures that can result from hospital services or stays
  3. How well hospitals prevent C.diff infections that can result from hospital services or stays
  4. How well hospitals prevent MRSA that can result from hospital services or stays
  5. How well hospitals prevent patients from falling and getting injured
  6. How well hospitals prevent pressure ulcers that can lead to serious infection
  7. How well hospitals prevent patients from being re-admitted within 30 days after being discharged from a hospital stay

The data for these measures come from state and national sources.

How does CompareMaine calculate payments?

The procedure cost is the average payment for a procedure at a certain facility. We calculate the average using the median, the middle number of a range of numbers ordered from lowest to highest. It includes two kinds of payments:

  1. The amount paid by the insurance company
  2. The patient's out-of-pocket costs

We also include payments to the healthcare professional (for example, the doctor or surgeon) and to the facility (for example, the hospital). The number of procedures or services used to calculate the payment at each facility is also displayed.

Actual out-of-pocket costs can be very different from one person to another. The amount you pay out-of-pocket may be different depending on:

  • The type of insurance you have
  • How much care you need
  • The provider you see

If you have insurance, your carrier may have a cost-calculator tool to help see your personal out-of-pocket expenses.

Healthcare expenses can be very different in different facilities—even for the same test or service. There are many reasons for this:

  • The types of patients the facility cares for
  • The doctors who work there
  • The equipment they use
  • The agreements they have made with health insurance companies

The information in the Calculating Payments section explains how CompareMaine uses all these differences when figuring average payments of more than 310 medical procedures.

The cost estimates on CompareMaine are median payments. They are meant to serve as a reference point for comparison. Please contact your insurance company to find out your actual payment. If you do not have insurance, please contact the facility that you are interested in. When contacted directly, facilities often report their charges, which may be higher than the actual payments they receive from insurance companies and patients.

MHDO makes every effort to provide accurate information on this website. Healthcare providers and insurance companies included on CompareMaine are sent the payment data to review for accuracy before they are released. Estimates published on this website are within 10% of payer and facility estimates.