Chemotherapy with Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis with Complications or High Dose — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 838 · Inpatient stay · 30 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $56,945
Typical charge
$71,614
Dearest quarter
over $97,301
Actually paid
$26,280
The middle U.S. hospital bills $71,614 for Chemotherapy with Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis with Complications or High Dose. The dearest hospitals charge about 3.0x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $26,280 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.
Where Chemotherapy with Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis with Complications or High Dose is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Mayo Clinic
Jacksonville, FL |
$37,563 | $20,658 |
|
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN |
$39,144 | $22,054 |
|
Unc Hospitals
Chapel Hill, NC |
$39,310 | $23,665 |
|
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Chicago, IL |
$42,899 | $22,829 |
|
University Of Washington Medical Ctr
Seattle, WA |
$42,972 | $23,405 |
|
Musc Medical Center
Charleston, SC |
$49,589 | $23,221 |
|
Sanford Medical Center Fargo
Fargo, ND |
$50,183 | $16,751 |
|
University Of Maryland Medical Center
Baltimore, MD |
$56,303 | $51,834 |
|
Uci Health-Orange
Orange, CA |
$58,872 | $31,173 |
|
Johns Hopkins Hospital, The
Baltimore, MD |
$59,373 | $52,156 |
|
Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital
Nashville, TN |
$60,875 | $16,120 |
|
Brigham And Women's Hospital
Boston, MA |
$60,949 | $24,393 |
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 Dallas Hospital
Dallas, TX |
$248,039 | $16,926 |
|
University Of California Davis Medical Center
Sacramento, CA |
$174,160 | $30,356 |
|
The University Of Chicago Medical Center
Chicago, IL |
$138,839 | $46,638 |
|
Upmc Presbyterian Shadyside
Pittsburgh, PA |
$125,539 | $19,894 |
|
New York-Presbyterian Hospital
New York, NY |
$112,737 | $29,527 |
|
Hospital Of Univ Of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA |
$108,165 | $25,430 |
|
University Of Alabama Hospital
Birmingham, AL |
$106,270 | $23,740 |
|
Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital
Milwaukee, WI |
$98,275 | $26,709 |
|
The Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE |
$94,379 | $20,789 |
|
Barnes Jewish Hospital
Saint Louis, MO |
$92,333 | $23,013 |
|
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH |
$88,048 | $20,287 |
|
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA |
$83,727 | $24,424 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Chemotherapy with Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis with Complications or High Dose?
Across 30 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Chemotherapy with Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis with Complications or High Dose is $71,614. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $56,945 and the dearest quarter over $97,301.
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 Chemotherapy with Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis with Complications or High Dose, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 3.0x 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. $26,280 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $84,073. 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 838: “CHEMOTHERAPY WITH ACUTE LEUKEMIA AS SECONDARY DIAGNOSIS WITH CC OR HIGH DOSE CHEMOTHERAP”. 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.