Pleural Effusion with Major Complications — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 186 · Inpatient stay · 123 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $52,694
Typical charge
$71,137
Dearest quarter
over $93,251
Actually paid
$14,624
The middle U.S. hospital bills $71,137 for Pleural Effusion with Major Complications. The dearest hospitals charge about 2.9x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $14,624 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.
Pleural Effusion with Major 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 | 3 | $12,903 | $10,490 – $18,965 |
| Massachusetts | 3 | $26,240 | $18,062 – $87,280 |
| North Carolina | 4 | $47,266 | $42,301 – $55,110 |
| Tennessee | 6 | $52,233 | $28,043 – $118,625 |
| Illinois | 6 | $61,715 | $36,051 – $65,637 |
| Florida | 19 | $62,329 | $43,449 – $113,994 |
| Oklahoma | 3 | $64,477 | $56,239 – $85,390 |
| Arizona | 6 | $65,088 | $53,481 – $88,216 |
| Virginia | 3 | $76,097 | $45,655 – $104,533 |
| New Jersey | 5 | $82,786 | $70,328 – $128,461 |
| California | 13 | $87,698 | $36,184 – $285,409 |
| Georgia | 4 | $98,145 | $71,978 – $108,419 |
| Pennsylvania | 4 | $98,776 | $74,882 – $174,478 |
| Kansas | 3 | $103,894 | $55,091 – $193,478 |
| Texas | 6 | $110,326 | $71,137 – $121,835 |
| New York | 9 | $121,771 | $63,733 – $190,702 |
Where Pleural Effusion 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center
Columbia, MD |
$10,490 | $9,465 |
|
Meritus Medical Center
Hagerstown, MD |
$12,903 | $12,053 |
|
Milford Regional Medical Center
Milford, MA |
$18,062 | $12,071 |
|
Umd Upper Chesapeake Medical Center
Bel Air, MD |
$18,965 | $16,873 |
|
Baystate Medical Center
Springfield, MA |
$26,240 | $17,137 |
|
University Health System, Inc
Knoxville, TN |
$28,043 | $14,357 |
|
Hannibal Regional Hospital
Hannibal, MO |
$35,051 | $12,555 |
|
Good Samaritan Regional Hlth Center
Mount Vernon, IL |
$36,051 | $10,461 |
|
Saint Agnes Medical Center
Fresno, CA |
$36,184 | $16,344 |
|
Billings Clinic Hospital
Billings, MT |
$36,201 | $14,585 |
|
Mercy Hospital Southeast
Cape Girardeau, MO |
$38,288 | $11,601 |
|
Our Lady Of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, Inc
Lafayette, LA |
$40,290 | $10,331 |
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 |
$285,409 | $37,043 |
|
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$256,179 | $21,288 |
|
Wesley Medical Center
Wichita, KS |
$193,478 | $12,785 |
|
New York-Presbyterian Hospital
New York, NY |
$190,702 | $21,532 |
|
John Muir Medical Center - Walnut Creek Campus
Walnut Creek, CA |
$178,980 | $16,496 |
|
Nyu Langone Hospitals
New York, NY |
$178,072 | $25,545 |
|
Temple University Hospital
Philadelphia, PA |
$174,478 | $20,485 |
|
Mount Sinai Hospital
New York, NY |
$165,936 | $29,296 |
|
Long Island Jewish Medical Center
New Hyde Park, NY |
$140,515 | $20,387 |
|
West Jersey Hospital
Voorhees, NJ |
$128,461 | $11,894 |
|
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, TX |
$121,835 | $15,538 |
|
North Shore University Hospital
Manhasset, NY |
$121,771 | $18,515 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Pleural Effusion with Major Complications?
Across 123 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Pleural Effusion with Major Complications is $71,137. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $52,694 and the dearest quarter over $93,251.
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 Pleural Effusion with Major Complications, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 2.9x 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. $14,624 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $81,947. 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 186: “PLEURAL EFFUSION 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.