Osteomyelitis with Major Complications — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 539 · Inpatient stay · 9 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $70,351
Typical charge
$94,531
Dearest quarter
over $125,858
Actually paid
$20,635
The middle U.S. hospital bills $94,531 for Osteomyelitis with Major Complications. The dearest hospitals charge about 2.5x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $20,635 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 Osteomyelitis 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
University Of Michigan Health System
Ann Arbor, MI |
$57,335 | $22,093 |
|
Yale-New Haven Hospital
New Haven, CT |
$63,356 | $24,269 |
|
Lehigh Valley Hospital
Allentown, PA |
$70,351 | $15,521 |
|
Adventhealth Orlando
Orlando, FL |
$88,496 | $14,275 |
|
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, TX |
$94,531 | $18,411 |
|
Christiana Hospital
Newark, DE |
$96,462 | $19,801 |
|
University Of Kansas Hospital
Kansas City, KS |
$125,858 | $17,731 |
|
North Shore University Hospital
Manhasset, NY |
$149,784 | $22,500 |
|
Nyu Langone Hospitals
New York, NY |
$171,113 | $31,119 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Nyu Langone Hospitals
New York, NY |
$171,113 | $31,119 |
|
North Shore University Hospital
Manhasset, NY |
$149,784 | $22,500 |
|
University Of Kansas Hospital
Kansas City, KS |
$125,858 | $17,731 |
|
Christiana Hospital
Newark, DE |
$96,462 | $19,801 |
|
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, TX |
$94,531 | $18,411 |
|
Adventhealth Orlando
Orlando, FL |
$88,496 | $14,275 |
|
Lehigh Valley Hospital
Allentown, PA |
$70,351 | $15,521 |
|
Yale-New Haven Hospital
New Haven, CT |
$63,356 | $24,269 |
|
University Of Michigan Health System
Ann Arbor, MI |
$57,335 | $22,093 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Osteomyelitis with Major Complications?
Across 9 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Osteomyelitis with Major Complications is $94,531. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $70,351 and the dearest quarter over $125,858.
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 Osteomyelitis with Major Complications, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 2.5x 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. $20,635 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $103,663. 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 539: “OSTEOMYELITIS 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.