Back and Neck Procedures Except Spinal Fusion with Complications — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 519 · Inpatient stay · 196 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $63,168
Typical charge
$85,610
Dearest quarter
over $120,109
Actually paid
$19,666
The middle U.S. hospital bills $85,610 for Back and Neck Procedures Except Spinal Fusion with Complications. The dearest hospitals charge about 3.8x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $19,666 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.
Back and Neck Procedures Except Spinal Fusion with 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 | 5 | $29,095 | $21,773 – $52,119 |
| Massachusetts | 10 | $44,182 | $27,635 – $107,722 |
| Mississippi | 3 | $51,566 | $48,599 – $56,749 |
| Nebraska | 3 | $53,249 | $39,250 – $79,264 |
| Minnesota | 6 | $58,427 | $41,743 – $73,277 |
| Tennessee | 6 | $65,126 | $24,035 – $128,884 |
| Michigan | 5 | $66,467 | $51,551 – $101,679 |
| Illinois | 10 | $78,069 | $51,220 – $131,807 |
| Ohio | 9 | $81,801 | $56,045 – $145,916 |
| Missouri | 3 | $82,266 | $40,911 – $95,967 |
| Georgia | 6 | $84,048 | $68,199 – $332,442 |
| Virginia | 5 | $84,458 | $41,259 – $117,118 |
| Washington | 5 | $84,500 | $74,821 – $111,132 |
| North Carolina | 5 | $87,705 | $60,231 – $117,592 |
| New Jersey | 3 | $92,888 | $84,882 – $98,516 |
| Kansas | 3 | $100,385 | $40,627 – $100,831 |
| New York | 10 | $101,502 | $39,269 – $178,998 |
| Pennsylvania | 10 | $101,711 | $55,836 – $190,928 |
| Texas | 14 | $104,621 | $52,331 – $228,153 |
| Kentucky | 3 | $108,690 | $81,092 – $128,056 |
| South Carolina | 3 | $116,507 | $71,327 – $117,695 |
| Florida | 15 | $122,143 | $68,293 – $301,206 |
| Arizona | 4 | $125,848 | $86,062 – $253,676 |
| Colorado | 3 | $137,935 | $103,448 – $291,416 |
| California | 18 | $152,350 | $74,641 – $282,573 |
| Nevada | 3 | $248,982 | $86,759 – $278,347 |
Where Back and Neck Procedures Except Spinal Fusion with Complications is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Arkansas Surgical Hospital
No Little Rock, AR |
$20,526 | $12,821 |
|
University Of Md St Joseph Medical Center
Towson, MD |
$21,773 | $19,344 |
|
Mercy Medical Center Inc
Baltimore, MD |
$23,219 | $19,957 |
|
Parkwest Medical Center
Knoxville, TN |
$24,035 | $12,382 |
|
Northeast Hospital Corporation
Beverly, MA |
$27,635 | $15,612 |
|
Suburban Hospital
Bethesda, MD |
$29,095 | $25,605 |
|
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington
Burlington, MA |
$30,318 | $19,720 |
|
Johns Hopkins Hospital, The
Baltimore, MD |
$33,005 | $29,473 |
|
Baystate Medical Center
Springfield, MA |
$38,005 | $20,961 |
|
The Nebraska Methodist Hospital
Omaha, NE |
$39,250 | $14,620 |
|
Crouse Hospital
Syracuse, NY |
$39,269 | $19,108 |
|
Kansas Spine & Specialty Hospital, Llc
Wichita, KS |
$40,627 | $11,997 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Grady Memorial Hospital
Atlanta, GA |
$332,442 | $59,107 |
|
Hca Florida Fawcett Hospital
Port Charlotte, FL |
$301,206 | $12,918 |
|
Hca-Healthone Dba Swedish Medical Center
Englewood, CO |
$291,416 | $18,686 |
|
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$282,573 | $28,572 |
|
Sunrise Hospital And Medical Center
Las Vegas, NV |
$278,347 | $18,081 |
|
Marinhealth Medical Center
Greenbrae, CA |
$258,252 | $22,313 |
|
Stanford Health Care
Stanford, CA |
$255,191 | $31,626 |
|
St Joseph's Hospital
Tucson, AZ |
$253,676 | $14,807 |
|
Mountainview Hospital
Las Vegas, NV |
$248,982 | $22,311 |
|
Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley
Pleasanton, CA |
$235,134 | $23,951 |
|
Baptist Medical Center
San Antonio, TX |
$228,153 | $14,539 |
|
John Muir Medical Center - Walnut Creek Campus
Walnut Creek, CA |
$215,922 | $22,511 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Back and Neck Procedures Except Spinal Fusion with Complications?
Across 196 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Back and Neck Procedures Except Spinal Fusion with Complications is $85,610. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $63,168 and the dearest quarter over $120,109.
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 Back and Neck Procedures Except Spinal Fusion with Complications, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 3.8x 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. $19,666 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $102,984. 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 519: “BACK AND NECK PROCEDURES EXCEPT SPINAL FUSION WITH CC”. 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.