Craniotomy with Major Device Implant or Acute Complex Central Nervous System Principal — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 023 · Inpatient stay · 432 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $177,250
Typical charge
$229,390
Dearest quarter
over $346,383
Actually paid
$55,160
The middle U.S. hospital bills $229,390 for Craniotomy with Major Device Implant or Acute Complex Central Nervous System Principal. The dearest hospitals charge about 3.5x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $55,160 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.
Craniotomy with Major Device Implant or Acute Complex Central Nervous System Principal 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 | 7 | $88,365 | $61,238 – $110,347 |
| Montana | 3 | $105,120 | $97,817 – $147,369 |
| Minnesota | 8 | $147,385 | $117,290 – $209,064 |
| Utah | 5 | $149,957 | $126,596 – $195,281 |
| Louisiana | 6 | $151,787 | $132,013 – $507,666 |
| Mississippi | 4 | $156,323 | $135,083 – $466,314 |
| Arkansas | 4 | $156,670 | $125,352 – $171,824 |
| Michigan | 14 | $168,358 | $66,960 – $240,529 |
| Alabama | 7 | $173,562 | $138,320 – $449,315 |
| Tennessee | 11 | $174,915 | $91,902 – $452,809 |
| Idaho | 3 | $177,293 | $158,947 – $314,918 |
| Virginia | 11 | $178,453 | $149,403 – $553,214 |
| Nebraska | 3 | $179,719 | $170,868 – $184,198 |
| Massachusetts | 8 | $180,151 | $119,559 – $220,856 |
| Arizona | 9 | $189,551 | $140,892 – $583,958 |
| North Carolina | 12 | $189,691 | $124,910 – $272,806 |
| Ohio | 13 | $195,482 | $136,492 – $398,435 |
| Missouri | 10 | $195,612 | $73,344 – $580,978 |
| Oregon | 5 | $197,166 | $135,703 – $210,370 |
| Connecticut | 4 | $206,128 | $184,378 – $259,974 |
| South Carolina | 5 | $213,615 | $175,354 – $600,704 |
| Indiana | 7 | $214,162 | $129,737 – $282,171 |
| South Dakota | 3 | $225,722 | $224,433 – $254,314 |
| Illinois | 20 | $232,839 | $102,333 – $345,359 |
| Wisconsin | 5 | $245,672 | $142,545 – $334,389 |
| Pennsylvania | 21 | $246,866 | $165,961 – $578,124 |
| Oklahoma | 6 | $248,869 | $129,057 – $654,784 |
| Washington | 8 | $249,393 | $153,807 – $304,303 |
| Kentucky | 6 | $266,220 | $104,523 – $378,893 |
| Colorado | 6 | $276,395 | $168,317 – $719,089 |
| Kansas | 3 | $281,140 | $179,159 – $569,062 |
| District of Columbia | 3 | $283,436 | $272,818 – $524,739 |
| Texas | 34 | $289,595 | $166,149 – $962,409 |
| Florida | 37 | $290,201 | $149,266 – $732,551 |
| Georgia | 9 | $292,915 | $196,419 – $441,994 |
| New York | 25 | $321,067 | $94,231 – $525,412 |
| New Jersey | 14 | $322,743 | $251,429 – $798,472 |
| California | 54 | $366,665 | $183,939 – $1,368,799 |
| Nevada | 4 | $501,633 | $148,253 – $871,578 |
Where Craniotomy with Major Device Implant or Acute Complex Central Nervous System Principal is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Medstar Franklin Square Medical Center
Rosedale, MD |
$61,238 | $54,779 |
|
Bronson Methodist Hospital
Kalamazoo, MI |
$66,960 | $38,818 |
|
Suburban Hospital
Bethesda, MD |
$68,523 | $61,211 |
|
Ssm Health Depaul Hospital St Louis
Bridgeton, MO |
$73,344 | $39,678 |
|
Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center
Rockville, MD |
$74,269 | $65,563 |
|
Sinai Hospital Of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD |
$88,365 | $77,554 |
|
University Of Maryland Medical Center
Baltimore, MD |
$88,776 | $81,598 |
|
Jackson-Madison County General Hospital
Jackson, TN |
$91,902 | $40,141 |
|
Crouse Hospital
Syracuse, NY |
$94,231 | $53,324 |
|
St. Patrick Hospital
Missoula, MT |
$97,817 | $44,395 |
|
Silver Cross Hospital And Medical Centers
New Lenox, IL |
$102,333 | $39,373 |
|
Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center
Knoxville, TN |
$103,412 | $38,274 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Good Samaritan Hospital
San Jose, CA |
$1,368,799 | $96,468 |
|
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$1,308,731 | $107,463 |
|
Hca Houston Healthcare Conroe
Conroe, TX |
$962,409 | $47,550 |
|
Stanford Health Care
Stanford, CA |
$918,591 | $109,539 |
|
Sunrise Hospital And Medical Center
Las Vegas, NV |
$871,578 | $48,264 |
|
Capital Health Regional Medical Center
Trenton, NJ |
$798,472 | $59,019 |
|
Medical City Arlington
Arlington, TX |
$793,704 | $61,506 |
|
Hca Houston Healthcare Kingwood
Kingwood, TX |
$765,175 | $45,460 |
|
Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center
Thousand Oaks, CA |
$765,050 | $59,367 |
|
Doctors Medical Center
Modesto, CA |
$762,415 | $67,303 |
|
Riverside Community Hospital
Riverside, CA |
$758,930 | $63,029 |
|
Hca Florida Aventura Hospital
Aventura, FL |
$732,551 | $55,348 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Craniotomy with Major Device Implant or Acute Complex Central Nervous System Principal?
Across 432 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Craniotomy with Major Device Implant or Acute Complex Central Nervous System Principal is $229,390. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $177,250 and the dearest quarter over $346,383.
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 Craniotomy with Major Device Implant or Acute Complex Central Nervous System Principal, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 3.5x 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. $55,160 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $281,418. 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 023: “CRANIOTOMY WITH MAJOR DEVICE IMPLANT OR ACUTE COMPLEX CNS PRINCIPAL DIAGNOSIS WITH MCC O”. 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.