When I compare the hospital cost to the statewide median, the result suggests the rating should be different. Is the rating correct?
Dollar sign ratings are assigned based on the statistical significance of the cost comparison. Statistical significance measures how certain we are that the difference between the hospital’s cost and the statewide median is mathematically important. The rating is based on a comparison of the unrounded values for each hospital to the statewide median. After the statistical significance and the dollar sign ratings are calculated, the cost numbers are rounded and then reported on the website. In some cases, the rounding process results in reporting values that may appear inconsistent with the statistical significance. If a value is under or equal to $100, it is rounded up or down to the nearest $10. If a cost is between $101 and $1000, it is rounded up or down to the nearest $25. If a cost is between $1,001 and $10,000, it is rounded up or down to the nearest $100. And if a cost is over $10,000, it is rounded up or down to the nearest $500. For example, if the statewide value is $120 and
