Hospitals charge above costs.

Byline: Mike Linn

Jan. 29--The four largest hospitals in the tri-county area generally charge patients between three and four times what it costs to perform services, an inflation hospital officials say is necessary because insurance companies constantly fight for lower reimbursements.

Baptist Health has charge-to-cost ratios for its three hospitals -- two in Montgomery and one in Prattville -- that exceed the state average of 305 percent, according to the Institute for Health and Socio-Economic Policy, the research arm of the California Nurses Association.