Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures without — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 517 · Inpatient stay · 130 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $50,798
Typical charge
$73,677
Dearest quarter
over $91,367
Actually paid
$14,008
The middle U.S. hospital bills $73,677 for Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures without. The dearest hospitals charge about 3.7x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $14,008 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 without 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 | 5 | $38,350 | $36,013 – $73,968 |
| North Carolina | 5 | $41,205 | $32,744 – $64,056 |
| Massachusetts | 5 | $47,093 | $20,229 – $87,676 |
| Tennessee | 4 | $51,411 | $36,676 – $83,612 |
| Illinois | 4 | $52,617 | $47,241 – $75,656 |
| Kansas | 5 | $52,665 | $20,848 – $86,447 |
| Ohio | 4 | $67,754 | $42,206 – $84,388 |
| Alabama | 3 | $73,481 | $50,483 – $146,747 |
| Georgia | 4 | $77,632 | $48,065 – $91,587 |
| Pennsylvania | 6 | $84,521 | $59,926 – $104,322 |
| Florida | 20 | $85,098 | $63,520 – $232,581 |
| New York | 5 | $89,980 | $73,294 – $138,100 |
| California | 14 | $110,766 | $58,913 – $236,357 |
| Texas | 14 | $113,556 | $48,450 – $170,888 |
| Virginia | 4 | $145,034 | $64,677 – $222,754 |
Where Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures without is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Arkansas Surgical Hospital
No Little Rock, AR |
$15,843 | $9,569 |
|
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, MA |
$20,229 | $17,113 |
|
Kansas Spine & Specialty Hospital, Llc
Wichita, KS |
$20,848 | $9,453 |
|
Johns Hopkins Hospital, The
Baltimore, MD |
$30,541 | $27,201 |
|
New England Baptist Hospital
Boston, MA |
$32,326 | $12,923 |
|
Duke University Hospital
Durham, NC |
$32,744 | $16,879 |
|
Billings Clinic Hospital
Billings, MT |
$33,540 | $12,100 |
|
Sanford Medical Center Fargo
Fargo, ND |
$35,129 | $12,265 |
|
Mymichigan Medical Center Midland
Midland, MI |
$36,013 | $12,552 |
|
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Minneapolis, MN |
$36,370 | $11,896 |
|
University Health System, Inc
Knoxville, TN |
$36,676 | $14,145 |
|
Deaconess Hospital Inc
Evansville, IN |
$36,679 | $11,432 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$236,357 | $18,961 |
|
Hca Florida Fawcett Hospital
Port Charlotte, FL |
$232,581 | $9,781 |
|
Henrico Doctors' Hospital
Richmond, VA |
$222,754 | $10,829 |
|
Cjw Medical Center
Richmond, VA |
$199,440 | $12,174 |
|
Stanford Health Care
Stanford, CA |
$194,872 | $26,105 |
|
Sky Ridge Medical Center
Lone Tree, CO |
$193,944 | $13,537 |
|
Hca Florida Jfk Hospital
Atlantis, FL |
$190,659 | $12,429 |
|
Hca Florida North Florida Hospital
Gainesville, FL |
$182,971 | $13,070 |
|
Longview Regional Medical Center
Longview, TX |
$170,888 | $10,110 |
|
Baptist Medical Center
San Antonio, TX |
$166,820 | $11,965 |
|
Medical City Plano
Plano, TX |
$162,449 | $12,882 |
|
Marion Communtiy Hospital
Ocala, FL |
$149,649 | $11,477 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures without?
Across 130 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures without is $73,677. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $50,798 and the dearest quarter over $91,367.
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 without, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 3.7x 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. $14,008 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $84,317. 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 517: “OTHER MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE 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.