How much does Back Problems (without major complications) cost?
MS-DRG 552 · Inpatient stay · 1,284 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $28,444
Typical charge
$39,073
Dearest quarter
over $58,239
Actually paid
$9,347
The middle U.S. hospital bills $39,073 for Back Problems (without major complications). The dearest hospitals charge about 4.1x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $9,347 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 Problems (without 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 | 30 | $13,102 | $8,422 – $38,007 |
| Massachusetts | 38 | $19,795 | $10,616 – $57,961 |
| Montana | 7 | $20,101 | $16,286 – $31,825 |
| Iowa | 15 | $24,241 | $16,159 – $49,516 |
| Mississippi | 11 | $25,113 | $12,190 – $100,394 |
| Arkansas | 15 | $25,987 | $8,835 – $54,197 |
| Alabama | 19 | $25,996 | $21,590 – $97,713 |
| North Dakota | 4 | $26,068 | $22,269 – $27,870 |
| Ohio | 57 | $27,090 | $14,819 – $53,089 |
| Rhode Island | 3 | $27,586 | $24,377 – $29,495 |
| West Virginia | 11 | $28,154 | $19,045 – $39,045 |
| Nebraska | 10 | $28,580 | $17,980 – $42,218 |
| New Mexico | 5 | $28,618 | $12,457 – $47,718 |
| Minnesota | 19 | $28,781 | $18,698 – $43,874 |
| Michigan | 42 | $29,134 | $19,804 – $65,402 |
| Delaware | 3 | $30,425 | $29,264 – $37,309 |
| Missouri | 29 | $30,634 | $19,514 – $106,056 |
| Kentucky | 15 | $30,967 | $17,106 – $55,197 |
| Oregon | 10 | $31,349 | $19,569 – $51,663 |
| Indiana | 28 | $31,493 | $22,488 – $64,448 |
| Louisiana | 13 | $31,579 | $18,630 – $85,128 |
| Virginia | 31 | $31,885 | $19,563 – $76,643 |
| Oklahoma | 10 | $31,995 | $25,720 – $96,078 |
| New Hampshire | 10 | $32,152 | $26,585 – $79,590 |
| North Carolina | 28 | $33,117 | $13,576 – $47,728 |
| Maine | 3 | $33,162 | $24,062 – $40,080 |
| Hawaii | 3 | $33,899 | $23,490 – $38,252 |
| Utah | 8 | $34,034 | $26,271 – $58,199 |
| Wisconsin | 18 | $34,146 | $19,164 – $48,690 |
| Idaho | 4 | $35,433 | $28,625 – $47,842 |
| South Dakota | 4 | $36,173 | $12,104 – $40,603 |
| South Carolina | 24 | $36,814 | $19,817 – $94,099 |
| Tennessee | 26 | $37,254 | $14,479 – $109,617 |
| Washington | 23 | $38,735 | $25,304 – $62,853 |
| Pennsylvania | 76 | $38,737 | $11,070 – $118,763 |
| Kansas | 12 | $39,082 | $24,141 – $120,771 |
| Illinois | 62 | $39,484 | $21,532 – $61,346 |
| Connecticut | 15 | $40,078 | $32,436 – $52,108 |
| Georgia | 34 | $42,177 | $19,635 – $99,984 |
| Arizona | 22 | $45,960 | $25,983 – $122,211 |
| District of Columbia | 4 | $46,915 | $39,048 – $69,760 |
| New York | 72 | $47,293 | $14,590 – $145,433 |
| Texas | 83 | $51,589 | $20,152 – $156,440 |
| Florida | 116 | $56,530 | $22,280 – $144,168 |
| New Jersey | 48 | $64,990 | $30,861 – $268,182 |
| Colorado | 20 | $69,900 | $20,548 – $123,262 |
| California | 126 | $72,198 | $21,089 – $183,669 |
| Nevada | 13 | $99,282 | $24,769 – $135,289 |
Where Back Problems (without 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center
Columbia, MD |
$8,422 | $7,667 |
|
Chambers Memorial Hospital
Danville, AR |
$8,835 | $7,608 |
|
Suburban Hospital
Bethesda, MD |
$9,796 | $8,794 |
|
Holy Cross Germantown Hospital
Germantown, MD |
$9,870 | $8,779 |
|
University Of Md St Joseph Medical Center
Towson, MD |
$10,139 | $9,069 |
|
Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, Inc
Annapolis, MD |
$10,210 | $9,407 |
|
Union Hospital Of Cecil County
Elkton, MD |
$10,274 | $9,139 |
|
Tidalhealth Peninsula Regional, Inc
Salisbury, MD |
$10,484 | $9,721 |
|
Winchester Hospital
Winchester, MA |
$10,616 | $7,950 |
|
Frederick Health Hospital
Frederick, MD |
$11,029 | $9,938 |
|
Heritage Valley Sewickley
Sewickley, PA |
$11,070 | $5,769 |
|
Brown University Health Morton Hospital
Taunton, MA |
$11,265 | $7,764 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Capital Health Regional Medical Center
Trenton, NJ |
$268,182 | $11,401 |
|
Capital Health Medical Center - Hopewell
Pennington, NJ |
$247,855 | $9,566 |
|
Good Samaritan Hospital
San Jose, CA |
$183,669 | $12,404 |
|
Desert Regional Medical Center
Palm Springs, CA |
$183,165 | $13,168 |
|
Regional Medical Center Of San Jose
San Jose, CA |
$182,425 | $12,253 |
|
Doctors Medical Center
Modesto, CA |
$171,366 | $12,620 |
|
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$170,720 | $13,859 |
|
San Ramon Regional Medical Center
San Ramon, CA |
$169,357 | $10,348 |
|
Hca Houston Healthcare Northwest
Houston, TX |
$156,440 | $12,478 |
|
Stanford Health Care
Stanford, CA |
$148,493 | $16,017 |
|
Westchester Medical Center
Valhalla, NY |
$145,433 | $11,982 |
|
Hca Florida Osceola Hospital
Kissimmee, FL |
$144,168 | $10,561 |
Questions people ask
How much does Back Problems (without major complications) cost in the United States?
Across 1,284 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Back Problems (without major complications) is $39,073. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $28,444 and the dearest quarter over $58,239.
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 Problems (without major complications), the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 4.1x 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. $9,347 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $50,120. 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 552: “MEDICAL BACK PROBLEMS WITHOUT 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.