Biopsies of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Complications — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 478 · Inpatient stay · 93 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $87,929
Typical charge
$114,714
Dearest quarter
over $149,836
Actually paid
$23,184
The middle U.S. hospital bills $114,714 for Biopsies of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Complications. The dearest hospitals charge about 3.2x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $23,184 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.
Biopsies of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 4 | $65,139 | $35,982 – $120,396 |
| Louisiana | 3 | $77,664 | $69,902 – $102,035 |
| Ohio | 3 | $81,625 | $37,650 – $104,728 |
| Virginia | 3 | $84,597 | $69,233 – $99,477 |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | $87,929 | $73,040 – $149,836 |
| Missouri | 3 | $91,117 | $69,277 – $95,569 |
| Michigan | 3 | $101,990 | $61,664 – $110,157 |
| Florida | 14 | $117,322 | $68,131 – $263,793 |
| Illinois | 4 | $121,613 | $79,320 – $156,448 |
| Georgia | 4 | $136,256 | $129,561 – $160,015 |
| Kentucky | 3 | $142,095 | $66,411 – $153,376 |
| New Jersey | 5 | $143,819 | $112,189 – $219,095 |
| Texas | 8 | $164,457 | $78,189 – $259,784 |
| California | 12 | $175,623 | $102,406 – $399,516 |
| New York | 5 | $187,223 | $49,055 – $224,293 |
Where Biopsies of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Baystate Medical Center
Springfield, MA |
$35,982 | $26,427 |
|
Blanchard Valley Hospital
Findlay, OH |
$37,650 | $15,073 |
|
Ecu Health Medical Center
Greenville, NC |
$46,747 | $22,047 |
|
Albany Medical Center Hospital
Albany, NY |
$49,055 | $25,053 |
|
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, MA |
$56,330 | $30,464 |
|
The Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE |
$58,520 | $23,357 |
|
Ascension Providence Hospital, Southfield And Novi
Southfield, MI |
$61,664 | $20,326 |
|
Owensboro Health Regional Hospital
Owensboro, KY |
$66,411 | $19,131 |
|
Adventhealth New Smyrna Beach
New Smyrna Beach, FL |
$68,131 | $15,986 |
|
Riverside Regional Medical Center
Newport News, VA |
$69,233 | $19,748 |
|
Mercy Hospital St Louis
Saint Louis, MO |
$69,277 | $18,995 |
|
Our Lady Of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, Inc
Lafayette, LA |
$69,902 | $14,842 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$399,516 | $31,277 |
|
Stanford Health Care
Stanford, CA |
$399,415 | $36,074 |
|
Riverside Community Hospital
Riverside, CA |
$316,189 | $30,174 |
|
Hca Florida Orange Park Hospital
Orange Park, FL |
$263,793 | $22,278 |
|
Medical City Plano
Plano, TX |
$259,784 | $21,006 |
|
Corpus Christi Medical Center,The
Corpus Christi, TX |
$252,035 | $18,859 |
|
Ucsf Medical Center
San Francisco, CA |
$241,684 | $42,282 |
|
El Camino Health
Mountain View, CA |
$231,230 | $25,584 |
|
Round Rock Medical Center
Round Rock, TX |
$230,330 | $16,767 |
|
Nyu Langone Hospitals
New York, NY |
$224,293 | $32,324 |
|
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
New Brunswick, NJ |
$219,095 | $30,192 |
|
New York-Presbyterian Hospital
New York, NY |
$216,902 | $32,724 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Biopsies of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Complications?
Across 93 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Biopsies of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Complications is $114,714. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $87,929 and the dearest quarter over $149,836.
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 Biopsies of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Complications, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 3.2x 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. $23,184 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $137,262. 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 478: “BIOPSIES OF MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE 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.