How much does Heart Attack (with complications) cost?
MS-DRG 281 · Inpatient stay · 1,239 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $33,014
Typical charge
$43,789
Dearest quarter
over $63,020
Actually paid
$8,784
The middle U.S. hospital bills $43,789 for Heart Attack (with complications). The dearest hospitals charge about 3.6x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $8,784 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.
Heart Attack (with 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 29 | $12,225 | $7,786 – $21,160 |
| Vermont | 3 | $17,171 | $10,585 – $32,883 |
| Massachusetts | 30 | $22,754 | $14,735 – $69,253 |
| Montana | 6 | $24,146 | $20,875 – $36,303 |
| West Virginia | 14 | $27,963 | $12,368 – $54,268 |
| North Dakota | 5 | $28,364 | $23,332 – $31,232 |
| Maine | 7 | $28,773 | $22,272 – $44,001 |
| Iowa | 15 | $29,271 | $18,350 – $67,415 |
| Rhode Island | 5 | $29,457 | $23,069 – $43,918 |
| Mississippi | 12 | $30,227 | $16,624 – $107,178 |
| Michigan | 43 | $31,312 | $20,524 – $59,204 |
| Utah | 5 | $31,733 | $28,031 – $37,776 |
| Minnesota | 16 | $32,615 | $26,113 – $48,884 |
| Oregon | 17 | $33,322 | $21,302 – $58,479 |
| Arkansas | 19 | $34,170 | $16,347 – $69,582 |
| Wisconsin | 23 | $34,226 | $16,267 – $76,156 |
| Wyoming | 3 | $35,286 | $35,108 – $49,520 |
| North Carolina | 37 | $35,380 | $18,765 – $60,145 |
| Connecticut | 11 | $36,881 | $21,614 – $54,768 |
| Delaware | 4 | $37,189 | $21,551 – $45,724 |
| Oklahoma | 16 | $37,805 | $23,150 – $94,073 |
| Ohio | 56 | $38,065 | $15,919 – $75,060 |
| Kansas | 14 | $38,770 | $21,249 – $105,566 |
| Louisiana | 16 | $39,118 | $20,610 – $64,959 |
| Nebraska | 8 | $39,953 | $27,078 – $49,839 |
| Missouri | 22 | $39,991 | $26,067 – $91,655 |
| South Dakota | 5 | $40,773 | $35,242 – $46,262 |
| Virginia | 39 | $40,826 | $21,389 – $93,363 |
| Kentucky | 21 | $40,952 | $18,231 – $67,178 |
| Tennessee | 30 | $41,257 | $13,827 – $118,148 |
| Idaho | 8 | $41,751 | $32,250 – $71,558 |
| New Hampshire | 10 | $42,205 | $28,350 – $79,601 |
| Washington | 31 | $42,547 | $21,865 – $65,917 |
| Illinois | 49 | $42,572 | $22,132 – $85,918 |
| South Carolina | 19 | $43,285 | $17,579 – $100,059 |
| Indiana | 28 | $45,375 | $27,404 – $76,758 |
| Georgia | 42 | $46,706 | $24,262 – $107,985 |
| Alabama | 15 | $50,083 | $22,554 – $100,327 |
| Pennsylvania | 54 | $50,421 | $11,032 – $169,562 |
| Texas | 84 | $54,661 | $22,345 – $138,967 |
| New York | 64 | $54,821 | $13,914 – $153,136 |
| Arizona | 26 | $57,304 | $36,259 – $120,421 |
| New Mexico | 4 | $57,353 | $26,033 – $66,382 |
| Florida | 103 | $59,406 | $25,140 – $163,343 |
| Colorado | 9 | $66,366 | $41,661 – $118,258 |
| New Jersey | 36 | $67,020 | $28,554 – $114,469 |
| California | 108 | $78,245 | $30,962 – $208,782 |
| Alaska | 3 | $84,811 | $77,394 – $122,116 |
| Nevada | 12 | $90,143 | $23,119 – $215,412 |
Where Heart Attack (with complications) is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Medstar Montgomery Medical Center
Olney, MD |
$7,786 | $6,931 |
|
Union Hospital Of Cecil County
Elkton, MD |
$9,476 | $8,458 |
|
Medstar Harbor Hospital
Baltimore, MD |
$9,845 | $8,879 |
|
Meritus Medical Center
Hagerstown, MD |
$10,164 | $9,364 |
|
Suburban Hospital
Bethesda, MD |
$10,243 | $9,184 |
|
Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center
Columbia, MD |
$10,303 | $9,915 |
|
Carroll Hospital Center
Westminster, MD |
$10,424 | $9,200 |
|
Northwestern Medical Center Inc
Saint Albans, VT |
$10,585 | $10,455 |
|
Umd Upper Chesapeake Medical Center
Bel Air, MD |
$10,661 | $9,515 |
|
Medstar Good Samaritan Hospital
Baltimore, MD |
$10,964 | $9,921 |
|
Excela Health Latrobe Hospital
Latrobe, PA |
$11,032 | $6,829 |
|
Frederick Health Hospital
Frederick, MD |
$11,038 | $10,123 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Summerlin Hospital Medical Center
Las Vegas, NV |
$215,412 | $8,348 |
|
San Ramon Regional Medical Center
San Ramon, CA |
$208,782 | $9,809 |
|
Doctors Medical Center
Modesto, CA |
$185,254 | $9,774 |
|
Good Samaritan Hospital
San Jose, CA |
$180,142 | $14,015 |
|
Hospital Of Univ Of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA |
$169,562 | $14,777 |
|
Ucla West Valley Medical Center
West Hills, CA |
$169,443 | $8,870 |
|
Stanford Health Care
Stanford, CA |
$165,316 | $15,879 |
|
Hca Florida Orange Park Hospital
Orange Park, FL |
$163,343 | $11,401 |
|
Emanuel Medical Center
Turlock, CA |
$159,344 | $9,543 |
|
Montefiore Medical Center
Bronx, NY |
$153,136 | $18,851 |
|
Hca Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital
Fort Walton Beach, FL |
$151,356 | $7,175 |
|
Sunrise Hospital And Medical Center
Las Vegas, NV |
$149,912 | $9,524 |
Questions people ask
How much does Heart Attack (with complications) cost in the United States?
Across 1,239 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Heart Attack (with complications) is $43,789. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $33,014 and the dearest quarter over $63,020.
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 Heart Attack (with complications), the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 3.6x 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. $8,784 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $51,411. 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 281: “ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION, DISCHARGED ALIVE WITH CC”. 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.