ECMO or Tracheostomy with Mechanical Ventilation >96 Hours or Principal Diagnosis Except — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 003 · Inpatient stay · 272 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $617,297
Typical charge
$878,344
Dearest quarter
over $1,267,619
Actually paid
$220,889
The middle U.S. hospital bills $878,344 for ECMO or Tracheostomy with Mechanical Ventilation >96 Hours or Principal Diagnosis Except. The dearest hospitals charge about 3.5x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $220,889 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.
ECMO or Tracheostomy with Mechanical Ventilation >96 Hours or Principal Diagnosis Except cost by state
The middle charge in each state where at least three hospitals publish a price, cheapest first.
| State | Hospitals | Typical charge | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 3 | $527,538 | $281,693 – $580,755 |
| Nebraska | 3 | $530,708 | $450,569 – $718,562 |
| Louisiana | 6 | $608,361 | $490,730 – $836,220 |
| Kentucky | 3 | $627,268 | $440,633 – $653,835 |
| Tennessee | 8 | $633,898 | $311,301 – $1,904,251 |
| Missouri | 5 | $655,533 | $558,365 – $1,119,192 |
| Ohio | 11 | $693,031 | $451,605 – $1,578,461 |
| Illinois | 11 | $693,940 | $510,629 – $1,798,599 |
| North Carolina | 9 | $698,013 | $354,688 – $959,410 |
| Michigan | 6 | $708,484 | $553,036 – $1,910,874 |
| Massachusetts | 8 | $715,344 | $523,254 – $1,222,379 |
| South Carolina | 6 | $742,835 | $516,307 – $1,233,053 |
| Indiana | 5 | $768,127 | $536,549 – $1,056,933 |
| Minnesota | 5 | $842,226 | $452,243 – $1,047,446 |
| Wisconsin | 3 | $849,051 | $702,656 – $1,047,222 |
| Arizona | 4 | $856,400 | $520,834 – $989,167 |
| Washington | 5 | $875,566 | $562,252 – $1,298,828 |
| Connecticut | 3 | $907,628 | $840,633 – $1,001,352 |
| Florida | 28 | $953,556 | $460,839 – $2,208,510 |
| Pennsylvania | 13 | $965,502 | $514,657 – $3,088,763 |
| Alabama | 3 | $974,696 | $738,479 – $1,282,615 |
| Georgia | 8 | $986,320 | $612,355 – $1,560,365 |
| Virginia | 6 | $999,124 | $780,636 – $2,106,944 |
| Oklahoma | 5 | $1,041,961 | $428,907 – $1,353,400 |
| New Jersey | 9 | $1,076,014 | $724,756 – $1,337,947 |
| Texas | 21 | $1,115,422 | $489,814 – $2,674,439 |
| New York | 22 | $1,182,162 | $444,346 – $2,468,194 |
| Nevada | 3 | $1,267,538 | $634,236 – $2,110,034 |
| District of Columbia | 3 | $1,383,536 | $832,673 – $1,481,184 |
| California | 24 | $1,556,267 | $590,499 – $5,161,515 |
Where ECMO or Tracheostomy with Mechanical Ventilation >96 Hours or Principal Diagnosis Except is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
University Of Maryland Medical Center
Baltimore, MD |
$258,674 | $236,966 |
|
University Of Arkansas Medical Sciences
Little Rock, AR |
$281,693 | $150,766 |
|
University Health System, Inc
Knoxville, TN |
$311,301 | $121,726 |
|
Johns Hopkins Hospital, The
Baltimore, MD |
$322,632 | $285,045 |
|
Ecu Health Medical Center
Greenville, NC |
$354,688 | $150,898 |
|
Unm Hospital
Albuquerque, NM |
$369,755 | $222,577 |
|
Kootenai Health
Coeur D'alene, ID |
$402,866 | $166,223 |
|
Monument Health Rapid City Hospital
Rapid City, SD |
$413,314 | $235,436 |
|
Ascension St John Medical Center
Tulsa, OK |
$428,907 | $101,752 |
|
Methodist Hospitals Of Memphis
Memphis, TN |
$435,213 | $129,865 |
|
Sanford Medical Center Fargo
Fargo, ND |
$437,880 | $154,012 |
|
University Of Louisville Hospital
Louisville, KY |
$440,633 | $134,871 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Stanford Health Care
Stanford, CA |
$5,161,515 | $624,169 |
|
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$3,991,515 | $372,321 |
|
Temple University Hospital
Philadelphia, PA |
$3,088,763 | $292,662 |
|
Mercy General Hospital
Sacramento, CA |
$2,891,854 | $378,306 |
|
Hospital Of Univ Of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA |
$2,726,336 | $407,445 |
|
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, TX |
$2,674,439 | $415,642 |
|
Hca-Healthone Dba Swedish Medical Center
Englewood, CO |
$2,622,658 | $374,011 |
|
Desert Regional Medical Center
Palm Springs, CA |
$2,480,440 | $178,164 |
|
Westchester Medical Center
Valhalla, NY |
$2,468,194 | $282,173 |
|
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
Philadelphia, PA |
$2,411,638 | $322,998 |
|
Hca Houston Healthcare Medical Center
Houston, TX |
$2,406,039 | $166,850 |
|
North Shore University Hospital
Manhasset, NY |
$2,340,880 | $306,044 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for ECMO or Tracheostomy with Mechanical Ventilation >96 Hours or Principal Diagnosis Except?
Across 272 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for ECMO or Tracheostomy with Mechanical Ventilation >96 Hours or Principal Diagnosis Except is $878,344. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $617,297 and the dearest quarter over $1,267,619.
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 ECMO or Tracheostomy with Mechanical Ventilation >96 Hours or Principal Diagnosis Except, 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. $220,889 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $1,160,394. 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 003: “ECMO OR TRACHEOSTOMY WITH MV >96 HOURS OR PRINCIPAL DIAGNOSIS EXCEPT FACE, MOUTH AND NEC”. 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.