Combined Anterior and Posterior Spinal Fusion with Major Complications — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 453 · Inpatient stay · 57 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $290,432
Typical charge
$443,649
Dearest quarter
over $645,614
Actually paid
$96,720
The middle U.S. hospital bills $443,649 for Combined Anterior and Posterior Spinal Fusion with Major Complications. The dearest hospitals charge about 4.3x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $96,720 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.
Combined Anterior and Posterior Spinal Fusion with Major Complications cost by state
The middle charge in each state where at least three hospitals publish a price, cheapest first.
Where Combined Anterior and Posterior 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington
Burlington, MA |
$119,080 | $88,981 |
|
Saint Joseph Hospital
Lexington, KY |
$123,202 | $59,331 |
|
North Memorial Health Hospital
Robbinsdale, MN |
$157,841 | $67,688 |
|
Good Samaritan Hospital
Cincinnati, OH |
$188,587 | $71,165 |
|
Mayo Clinic
Jacksonville, FL |
$208,158 | $80,074 |
|
Christiana Hospital
Newark, DE |
$213,911 | $80,563 |
|
Brigham And Women's Hospital
Boston, MA |
$227,274 | $98,262 |
|
Riverside Methodist Hospital
Columbus, OH |
$232,394 | $64,331 |
|
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Minneapolis, MN |
$237,600 | $69,829 |
|
Christ Hospital
Cincinnati, OH |
$255,170 | $68,609 |
|
Mayo Clinic Hospital
Phoenix, AZ |
$256,830 | $102,346 |
|
Medical Center Of The Rockies
Loveland, CO |
$264,999 | $64,684 |
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 Fort Worth
Fort Worth, TX |
$1,844,686 | $77,076 |
|
Medical City Plano
Plano, TX |
$1,543,132 | $93,589 |
|
Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin
Austin, TX |
$1,155,286 | $121,646 |
|
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$1,097,779 | $126,632 |
|
Nyu Langone Hospitals
New York, NY |
$1,060,385 | $163,669 |
|
Stanford Health Care
Stanford, CA |
$1,016,997 | $147,302 |
|
Baptist Medical Center
San Antonio, TX |
$911,647 | $87,822 |
|
El Camino Health
Mountain View, CA |
$763,059 | $104,014 |
|
Orlando Health
Orlando, FL |
$758,554 | $80,040 |
|
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, TX |
$744,400 | $101,043 |
|
Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center
Houston, TX |
$728,067 | $115,992 |
|
Ucsf Medical Center
San Francisco, CA |
$709,251 | $152,267 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Combined Anterior and Posterior Spinal Fusion with Major Complications?
Across 57 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Combined Anterior and Posterior Spinal Fusion with Major Complications is $443,649. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $290,432 and the dearest quarter over $645,614.
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 Combined Anterior and Posterior Spinal Fusion with Major Complications, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 4.3x 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. $96,720 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $588,627. 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 453: “COMBINED ANTERIOR AND POSTERIOR 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.