Other Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat Operating Room Procedures without Complications/mcc — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 145 · Inpatient stay · 8 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $62,279
Typical charge
$69,721
Dearest quarter
over $102,322
Actually paid
$15,521
The middle U.S. hospital bills $69,721 for Other Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat Operating Room Procedures without Complications/mcc. The dearest hospitals charge about 3.2x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $15,521 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 Other Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat Operating Room Procedures without Complications/mcc is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Barnes Jewish Hospital
Saint Louis, MO |
$48,671 | $15,010 |
|
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN |
$61,744 | $13,381 |
|
Musc Medical Center
Charleston, SC |
$62,457 | $13,046 |
|
University Of Alabama Hospital
Birmingham, AL |
$68,147 | $12,621 |
|
University Of Cincinnati Medical Center, Llc
Cincinnati, OH |
$71,295 | $13,493 |
|
Ronald Reagan Ucla Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$80,068 | $22,108 |
|
Hospital Of Univ Of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA |
$169,082 | $16,339 |
|
Stanford Health Care
Stanford, CA |
$225,057 | $18,167 |
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 |
$225,057 | $18,167 |
|
Hospital Of Univ Of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA |
$169,082 | $16,339 |
|
Ronald Reagan Ucla Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$80,068 | $22,108 |
|
University Of Cincinnati Medical Center, Llc
Cincinnati, OH |
$71,295 | $13,493 |
|
University Of Alabama Hospital
Birmingham, AL |
$68,147 | $12,621 |
|
Musc Medical Center
Charleston, SC |
$62,457 | $13,046 |
|
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN |
$61,744 | $13,381 |
|
Barnes Jewish Hospital
Saint Louis, MO |
$48,671 | $15,010 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Other Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat Operating Room Procedures without Complications/mcc?
Across 8 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Other Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat Operating Room Procedures without Complications/mcc is $69,721. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $62,279 and the dearest quarter over $102,322.
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 Other Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat Operating Room Procedures without Complications/mcc, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 3.2x 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. $15,521 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $93,462. 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 145: “OTHER EAR, NOSE, MOUTH AND THROAT O.R. PROCEDURES WITHOUT CC/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.