Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 555 · Inpatient stay · 5 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $32,771
Typical charge
$80,974
Dearest quarter
over $88,419
Actually paid
$14,337
The middle U.S. hospital bills $80,974 for Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major. The dearest hospitals charge about 4.2x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $14,337 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 Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Upmc Pinnacle Hospitals
Harrisburg, PA |
$24,340 | $11,429 |
|
Los Angeles Community Hospital
Los Angeles, CA |
$32,771 | $14,780 |
|
Long Island Jewish Medical Center
New Hyde Park, NY |
$80,974 | $14,729 |
|
Adventhealth Orlando
Orlando, FL |
$88,419 | $11,411 |
|
New York-Presbyterian Hospital
New York, NY |
$134,075 | $19,333 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
New York-Presbyterian Hospital
New York, NY |
$134,075 | $19,333 |
|
Adventhealth Orlando
Orlando, FL |
$88,419 | $11,411 |
|
Long Island Jewish Medical Center
New Hyde Park, NY |
$80,974 | $14,729 |
|
Los Angeles Community Hospital
Los Angeles, CA |
$32,771 | $14,780 |
|
Upmc Pinnacle Hospitals
Harrisburg, PA |
$24,340 | $11,429 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major?
Across 5 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major is $80,974. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $32,771 and the dearest quarter over $88,419.
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 Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue with Major, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 4.2x 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. $14,337 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $67,996. 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 555: “SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE 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.