Aftercare, Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major Complications — what U.S. hospitals charge

MS-DRG 559 · Inpatient stay · 15 U.S. hospitals publish a price

Cheapest quarter

under $40,637

Typical charge

$59,110

Dearest quarter

over $122,101

Actually paid

$28,024

The middle U.S. hospital bills $59,110 for Aftercare, Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major Complications. The dearest hospitals charge about 6.6x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $28,024 per case.

These are charges, not quotes. What you pay depends on your insurance and your own case. The figures matter because the charge is where an uninsured or out-of-network bill starts.

Aftercare, Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major Complications cost by state

The middle charge in each state where at least three hospitals publish a price, cheapest first.

State	Hospitals	Typical charge	Range
Maryland	7	$39,214	$31,815 – $59,110

Where Aftercare, Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major Complications is charged least

Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.

Hospital	Charged	Actually paid
Medstar Good Samaritan Hospital Baltimore, MD	$31,815	$28,348
Johns Hopkins Hospital, The Baltimore, MD	$32,124	$28,709
Meritus Medical Center Hagerstown, MD	$36,467	$33,523
Umd Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute Baltimore, MD	$39,214	$34,579
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Baltimore, MD	$42,061	$36,666
University Of Md Shore Medical Center At Easton Easton, MD	$50,365	$44,951
Saint Francis Hospital, Inc Tulsa, OK	$52,072	$12,450
Sinai Hospital Of Baltimore Baltimore, MD	$59,110	$52,016
Baptist Memorial Hospital Memphis, TN	$74,449	$13,828
Southern California Hospital At Hollywood Hollywood, CA	$108,619	$20,790
Adventhealth Orlando Orlando, FL	$110,716	$13,607
Nyu Langone Hospitals New York, NY	$133,486	$24,378

Where it is charged most

Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.

Hospital	Charged	Actually paid
New York-Presbyterian Hospital New York, NY	$289,907	$40,281
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, CA	$279,579	$23,191
Medical City Plano Plano, TX	$138,017	$13,036
Nyu Langone Hospitals New York, NY	$133,486	$24,378
Adventhealth Orlando Orlando, FL	$110,716	$13,607
Southern California Hospital At Hollywood Hollywood, CA	$108,619	$20,790
Baptist Memorial Hospital Memphis, TN	$74,449	$13,828
Sinai Hospital Of Baltimore Baltimore, MD	$59,110	$52,016
Saint Francis Hospital, Inc Tulsa, OK	$52,072	$12,450
University Of Md Shore Medical Center At Easton Easton, MD	$50,365	$44,951
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Baltimore, MD	$42,061	$36,666
Umd Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute Baltimore, MD	$39,214	$34,579

Questions people ask

What do U.S. hospitals charge for Aftercare, Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major Complications?

Across 15 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Aftercare, Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major Complications is $59,110. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $40,637 and the dearest quarter over $122,101.

Why do hospitals charge such different amounts for the same procedure?

Because a hospital charge is a list price it sets itself, not a regulated rate. For Aftercare, Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major Complications, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 6.6x what the cheapest tenth charge for the same coded work. Insurers negotiate their own rates from those lists, which is why the charge and what is actually paid can be very far apart.

Is that what I would actually pay?

No. $28,024 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $83,761. If you have insurance, your plan pays a negotiated rate and you pay your deductible and coinsurance. If you are uninsured or out of network, the hospital's charge is where your bill starts — which is why the gap matters. Ask for a written good-faith estimate before treatment.

What this code covers

CMS records this work as MS-DRG 559: “AFTERCARE, MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE WITH MCC”. A DRG covers a whole inpatient stay rather than a single item, so the charge includes the room, the procedure and the care around it. Codes that mention complications carry a different, usually higher price.

Related procedures

Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures typically $62,465
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures typically $39,867
Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures typically $20,376
Level 2 Musculoskeletal Procedures typically $11,229
Level 6 Musculoskeletal Procedures typically $83,029
Hip or Thigh Bone Surgery (with complications) typically $83,324
Hip or Knee Replacement (without major complications) typically $79,947
Back Problems (without major complications) typically $39,073

Before you are billed

Ask for a written good-faith estimate — you are entitled to one if you are uninsured or paying yourself.
Check the hospital's machine-readable price file; every U.S. hospital must publish one.
If you are insured, ask whether every provider involved is in network — the surprise usually comes from the ones you never met.

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