How much does Sepsis cost?
MS-DRG 870 · Inpatient stay · 878 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $197,413
Typical charge
$268,535
Dearest quarter
over $390,137
Actually paid
$63,414
The middle U.S. hospital bills $268,535 for Sepsis. The dearest hospitals charge about 3.8x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $63,414 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.
Sepsis 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 | 27 | $77,063 | $57,583 – $107,251 |
| Massachusetts | 18 | $151,630 | $98,621 – $357,251 |
| Michigan | 28 | $171,072 | $115,215 – $299,422 |
| Mississippi | 11 | $181,765 | $107,105 – $490,605 |
| North Carolina | 21 | $202,489 | $104,007 – $347,024 |
| Kentucky | 11 | $205,856 | $101,314 – $328,331 |
| Nebraska | 5 | $209,912 | $167,834 – $278,252 |
| North Dakota | 3 | $213,939 | $150,795 – $216,249 |
| Ohio | 32 | $218,015 | $117,450 – $455,815 |
| West Virginia | 7 | $218,584 | $108,437 – $277,398 |
| Tennessee | 19 | $218,951 | $96,821 – $536,828 |
| Indiana | 18 | $219,192 | $118,802 – $375,112 |
| Arkansas | 14 | $222,158 | $125,236 – $765,745 |
| Washington | 9 | $223,915 | $191,099 – $412,575 |
| Illinois | 35 | $223,919 | $91,324 – $579,385 |
| Minnesota | 9 | $229,935 | $165,889 – $506,228 |
| Oregon | 4 | $231,774 | $189,634 – $258,804 |
| Virginia | 22 | $232,099 | $137,908 – $618,973 |
| Louisiana | 12 | $234,142 | $138,405 – $395,939 |
| Alabama | 19 | $245,170 | $101,009 – $694,419 |
| Connecticut | 10 | $245,301 | $184,877 – $370,738 |
| Iowa | 4 | $245,531 | $163,089 – $295,072 |
| Missouri | 18 | $247,166 | $172,502 – $511,342 |
| South Carolina | 9 | $247,307 | $157,278 – $491,537 |
| Wisconsin | 6 | $254,157 | $174,795 – $304,475 |
| New York | 67 | $265,537 | $99,442 – $727,270 |
| Oklahoma | 13 | $269,540 | $101,043 – $729,650 |
| New Mexico | 3 | $272,499 | $192,386 – $525,763 |
| District of Columbia | 6 | $277,732 | $198,623 – $642,805 |
| Arizona | 17 | $282,513 | $183,785 – $391,201 |
| Pennsylvania | 33 | $291,159 | $123,093 – $930,948 |
| Hawaii | 3 | $297,382 | $238,568 – $337,910 |
| Georgia | 30 | $301,085 | $116,485 – $630,919 |
| Florida | 69 | $315,161 | $167,662 – $741,681 |
| New Hampshire | 3 | $335,623 | $276,179 – $389,346 |
| Kansas | 5 | $335,921 | $221,596 – $628,035 |
| Texas | 61 | $344,561 | $136,517 – $794,323 |
| New Jersey | 36 | $344,846 | $195,036 – $1,781,977 |
| California | 133 | $420,125 | $168,973 – $1,683,259 |
| Colorado | 5 | $526,201 | $281,822 – $858,409 |
| Nevada | 10 | $672,393 | $291,479 – $861,964 |
Where Sepsis is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Frederick Health Hospital
Frederick, MD |
$57,583 | $52,702 |
|
Medstar Montgomery Medical Center
Olney, MD |
$61,795 | $54,894 |
|
Meritus Medical Center
Hagerstown, MD |
$62,480 | $57,487 |
|
Adventist Healthcare White Oak Medical Center
Silver Spring, MD |
$62,955 | $56,339 |
|
Sinai Hospital Of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD |
$64,343 | $56,656 |
|
Medstar Franklin Square Medical Center
Rosedale, MD |
$64,669 | $58,308 |
|
Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center
Columbia, MD |
$66,092 | $61,532 |
|
Umd Upper Chesapeake Medical Center
Bel Air, MD |
$66,622 | $60,013 |
|
Medstar Southern Maryland Hospital Center
Clinton, MD |
$69,344 | $65,094 |
|
Suburban Hospital
Bethesda, MD |
$74,990 | $52,901 |
|
Northwest Hospital Center
Randallstown, MD |
$75,127 | $66,788 |
|
Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center
Rockville, MD |
$75,158 | $66,055 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Capital Health Regional Medical Center
Trenton, NJ |
$1,781,977 | $70,980 |
|
Stanford Health Care
Stanford, CA |
$1,683,259 | $187,383 |
|
Doctors Medical Center
Modesto, CA |
$1,343,542 | $76,599 |
|
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$1,332,141 | $117,332 |
|
Good Samaritan Hospital
San Jose, CA |
$1,270,647 | $93,748 |
|
Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center
Thousand Oaks, CA |
$1,171,903 | $94,015 |
|
Regional Medical Center Of San Jose
San Jose, CA |
$1,167,753 | $68,511 |
|
Riverside Community Hospital
Riverside, CA |
$1,129,427 | $88,449 |
|
Northbay Medical Center
Fairfield, CA |
$1,098,893 | $147,031 |
|
El Camino Health
Mountain View, CA |
$974,032 | $112,273 |
|
Ucla West Valley Medical Center
West Hills, CA |
$972,533 | $65,513 |
|
Hospital Of Univ Of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA |
$930,948 | $119,128 |
Questions people ask
How much does Sepsis cost in the United States?
Across 878 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Sepsis is $268,535. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $197,413 and the dearest quarter over $390,137.
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 Sepsis, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 3.8x 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. $63,414 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $336,205. 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 870: “SEPTICEMIA OR SEVERE SEPSIS WITH MV >96 HOURS”. 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.