Cervical Spinal Fusion with Major Complications — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 471 · Inpatient stay · 32 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $154,709
Typical charge
$216,108
Dearest quarter
over $323,798
Actually paid
$57,506
The middle U.S. hospital bills $216,108 for Cervical Spinal Fusion with Major Complications. The dearest hospitals charge about 3.2x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $57,506 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.
Cervical Spinal Fusion 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 4 | $159,565 | $102,285 – $205,417 |
| Illinois | 3 | $215,205 | $129,826 – $234,263 |
| New York | 3 | $383,468 | $343,954 – $507,222 |
| Texas | 3 | $534,601 | $166,661 – $563,161 |
Where Cervical Spinal Fusion 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Johns Hopkins Hospital, The
Baltimore, MD |
$73,201 | $80,187 |
|
Ascension Providence Hospital, Southfield And Novi
Southfield, MI |
$93,867 | $41,177 |
|
Lowell General Hospital
Lowell, MA |
$102,285 | $41,086 |
|
University Of Maryland Medical Center
Baltimore, MD |
$123,102 | $113,839 |
|
Saint Francis Hospital, Inc
Tulsa, OK |
$123,726 | $34,414 |
|
Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, IL |
$129,826 | $59,857 |
|
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, MA |
$131,103 | $75,645 |
|
Inova Fairfax Hospital
Falls Church, VA |
$150,634 | $49,981 |
|
Christiana Hospital
Newark, DE |
$156,067 | $48,663 |
|
Mayo Clinic Hospital
Phoenix, AZ |
$156,784 | $51,728 |
|
Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth
Fort Worth, TX |
$166,661 | $47,290 |
|
Riverside Methodist Hospital
Columbus, OH |
$181,646 | $43,189 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Medical City Plano
Plano, TX |
$563,161 | $54,615 |
|
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, TX |
$534,601 | $49,799 |
|
Nyu Langone Hospitals
New York, NY |
$507,222 | $83,676 |
|
Ucsf Medical Center
San Francisco, CA |
$391,998 | $82,974 |
|
New York-Presbyterian Hospital
New York, NY |
$383,468 | $60,776 |
|
Tampa General Hospital
Tampa, FL |
$352,296 | $45,080 |
|
Mount Sinai Hospital
New York, NY |
$343,954 | $65,761 |
|
University Of Kansas Hospital
Kansas City, KS |
$342,115 | $42,390 |
|
Adventhealth Orlando
Orlando, FL |
$317,693 | $36,074 |
|
Medstar Washington Hospital Center
Washington, DC |
$292,909 | $52,644 |
|
Medstar Georgetown University Hospital
Washington, DC |
$266,914 | $83,009 |
|
Prisma Health Richland Hospital
Columbia, SC |
$255,854 | $52,359 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Cervical Spinal Fusion with Major Complications?
Across 32 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Cervical Spinal Fusion with Major Complications is $216,108. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $154,709 and the dearest quarter over $323,798.
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 Cervical Spinal Fusion with Major 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. $57,506 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $255,109. 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 471: “CERVICAL SPINAL FUSION 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.