Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures with Major — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 515 · Inpatient stay · 64 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $89,743
Typical charge
$118,154
Dearest quarter
over $205,961
Actually paid
$28,552
The middle U.S. hospital bills $118,154 for Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures with Major. The dearest hospitals charge about 4.1x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $28,552 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.
Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures with Major cost by state
The middle charge in each state where at least three hospitals publish a price, cheapest first.
| State | Hospitals | Typical charge | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 3 | $61,337 | $47,762 – $91,137 |
| Massachusetts | 5 | $66,687 | $42,707 – $179,663 |
| Illinois | 5 | $115,336 | $88,967 – $131,813 |
| Kansas | 4 | $132,090 | $72,383 – $287,582 |
| Florida | 9 | $141,373 | $85,756 – $249,465 |
| Georgia | 3 | $179,670 | $143,896 – $250,330 |
| Texas | 6 | $213,177 | $99,750 – $321,104 |
| Virginia | 3 | $297,002 | $85,484 – $377,797 |
| California | 4 | $436,547 | $317,728 – $471,614 |
Where Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures with Major is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Cape Cod Hospital
Hyannis, MA |
$42,707 | $32,260 |
|
South Shore Hospital
South Weymouth, MA |
$46,976 | $27,087 |
|
Spectrum Health
Grand Rapids, MI |
$47,762 | $26,129 |
|
Mercyone Dubuque Medical Center
Dubuque, IA |
$59,554 | $19,879 |
|
Ascension Providence Hospital, Southfield And Novi
Southfield, MI |
$61,337 | $25,463 |
|
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington
Burlington, MA |
$66,687 | $33,182 |
|
Ascension Via Christi Hospitals Wichita, Inc.
Wichita, KS |
$72,383 | $23,430 |
|
Saint Francis Hospital, Inc
Tulsa, OK |
$73,806 | $23,568 |
|
Parkview Regional Medical Center
Fort Wayne, IN |
$75,686 | $23,227 |
|
Johns Hopkins Hospital, The
Baltimore, MD |
$80,912 | $71,179 |
|
Deaconess Hospital Inc
Evansville, IN |
$81,072 | $21,388 |
|
North Mississippi Medical Center
Tupelo, MS |
$84,745 | $22,387 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
University Of California Davis Medical Center
Sacramento, CA |
$471,614 | $66,687 |
|
Stanford Health Care
Stanford, CA |
$469,686 | $53,441 |
|
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$403,408 | $38,084 |
|
Cjw Medical Center
Richmond, VA |
$377,797 | $20,689 |
|
Medical City Plano
Plano, TX |
$321,104 | $19,668 |
|
Ucsf Medical Center
San Francisco, CA |
$317,728 | $57,788 |
|
Henrico Doctors' Hospital
Richmond, VA |
$297,002 | $21,604 |
|
Nyu Langone Hospitals
New York, NY |
$291,898 | $45,444 |
|
Wesley Medical Center
Wichita, KS |
$287,582 | $24,445 |
|
Longview Regional Medical Center
Longview, TX |
$261,083 | $20,840 |
|
Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center
Marietta, GA |
$250,330 | $29,949 |
|
Adventhealth Orlando
Orlando, FL |
$249,465 | $35,432 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures with Major?
Across 64 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures with Major is $118,154. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $89,743 and the dearest quarter over $205,961.
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 Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures with Major, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 4.1x 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. $28,552 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $163,859. 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 515: “OTHER MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE O.R. PROCEDURES 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.