The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center went on the offensive yesterday in the wake of a report revealing wide disparities in the amounts paid for local cardiac surgeries. It contended there were deficiencies in the data used to compile the report and argued the region's largest health care provider should only be measured against the large academic institutions in the eastern part of the state.

The pricing comparisons in the study by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council should be taken with a "grain of salt," said UPMC spokeswoman Wendy Zellner. "It is not fair to look at us vs. Jefferson, St. Clair or West Penn," three local hospitals that received thousands less for the same heart procedures with no difference in quality of care, as measured by mortality and readmission rates.

The report showed that during 2005, UPMC Presbyterian and UPMC Shadyside received an average of $34,803 for coronary artery bypass graft surgery -- used on patients with significant artery blockage. The average payment for the same procedure at West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield was $25,184, while at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Jefferson Hills, the cost was even lower: $18,009.

UPMC argued that its Presbyterian and Shadyside facilities handle a mix of procedures that are more complex and difficult -- and thus more expensive -- than "some other hospitals in the region," skewing its average prices upward. The study from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council does not adjust its data to account for this greater severity of cases, it said.

But UPMC Presbyterian and UPMC Shadyside, according to data obtained by the Post-Gazette from the council, received a severity-of-illness score for coronary artery bypass procedures (measuring how sick patients are when they arrive at the hospital) of 1.77 -- equal to the score received by Jefferson Regional, the hospital with the lowest price per the same procedures in the Pittsburgh area (a rating of 4 indicates the sickest patients). Allegheny General on the North Side received a score of 1.60. UPMC Passavant in the North Hills scored a 1.62.

The report "gives credit to hospitals and surgeons for treating sicker patients," said Joe Martin, spokesman for the cost containment council, a state agency that seeks to address the cost and quality of health care. "The whole purpose is to place hospitals on an apples-to-apples basis."

Ms. Zellner contends that the complexity and types of procedures are the more important issues when it comes to average price -- not the illness levels of patients. "If you do more of the higher-paying procedures than lower-paying ones, your average will vary," she said.

A better pricing comparison, she argued, can be made when measuring UPMC against the large "academic medical centers" in Philadelphia. All were higher -- Hahnemann University had an average payment of $78,312, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania was $60,733 and Temple was paid $57,533.

"If you look at the big picture, Western Pennsylvania is getting a very good deal here," Ms. Zellner said. "They should be happy about what this report shows." People in this area "are getting some of the best care in the country at a major academic medical center for far less than the people in Philadelphia are paying -- for the same kind of quality."

That UPMC is paid "far less" than "any other medical center in the state" is "something Pittsburgh should be happy about."

UPMC's comparisons overlook Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, which handled a higher volume of cases than some of the Philadelphia institutions. Its price per procedure was considerably lower than UPMC's -- $25,443 vs. $34,803.

But UPMC argues that Hershey should not be in the major academic medical center group because its research grants are less.

Hershey Medical could not be reached for comment.

West Penn Allegheny Health System, parent of West Penn and Allegheny General, wants to know why it is left out of that comparison, as well. "The last time I looked, we teach both graduate and undergraduate students," said West Penn spokesman Tom Chakurda, citing its programs with Temple and Drexel University.

UPMC's Ms. Zellner acknowledges that West Penn teaches medical students, "but we believe we are unique in this market given our close affiliation with the University of Pittsburgh" and the ability to attract more than $400 million a year in research funding.

Staff writer Joe Fahy contributed to this report. Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752.