Northward medical costs

Identical medical procedures are generally far more expensive in the North State than in Southern California, a new cost-comparison website shows.

For example, in the Sacramento area, a total hip replacement procedure runs an average of $51,458, compared with $27,748 in east Los Angeles County. The same goes for the average cost of a cesarean section ($28,828 and $17,567, respectively) and knee replacement surgery ($42,488 and $27,276).

Some experts speculate that the difference is due to lack of competition in the North State, where health care is provided mostly through a few large hospital chains, whereas Southern California's health care system is made up of smaller hospitals and independent practices, according to The Sacramento Bee. The site, cahealthcarecompare.org, is a collaboration of UC San Francisco, Consumer Reports and the California Department of Insurance.