Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue without Major — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 556 · Inpatient stay · 152 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $26,324
Typical charge
$37,903
Dearest quarter
over $60,271
Actually paid
$8,626
The middle U.S. hospital bills $37,903 for Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue without Major. The dearest hospitals charge about 4.3x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $8,626 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.
Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue without 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 11 | $13,624 | $9,359 – $21,432 |
| Massachusetts | 6 | $16,096 | $13,484 – $21,799 |
| Michigan | 6 | $21,424 | $7,347 – $38,088 |
| Missouri | 3 | $23,155 | $17,958 – $29,085 |
| Ohio | 4 | $27,843 | $22,953 – $38,595 |
| Illinois | 6 | $28,695 | $21,286 – $43,819 |
| North Carolina | 3 | $32,090 | $24,495 – $39,182 |
| Pennsylvania | 22 | $32,252 | $23,713 – $96,788 |
| Wisconsin | 3 | $32,410 | $24,311 – $37,895 |
| Arizona | 4 | $44,193 | $33,235 – $48,077 |
| Texas | 5 | $52,716 | $33,472 – $64,659 |
| Florida | 14 | $55,849 | $28,601 – $103,017 |
| New York | 22 | $56,203 | $14,025 – $127,690 |
| New Jersey | 10 | $59,604 | $30,942 – $85,833 |
| California | 15 | $68,270 | $22,416 – $144,099 |
| Kansas | 3 | $75,280 | $23,069 – $86,109 |
Where Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue without Major is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Surgeons Choice Medical Center
Southfield, MI |
$7,347 | $5,874 |
|
University Of Md St Joseph Medical Center
Towson, MD |
$9,359 | $8,304 |
|
Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, Inc
Annapolis, MD |
$9,755 | $9,089 |
|
Frederick Health Hospital
Frederick, MD |
$9,917 | $9,011 |
|
Medstar Franklin Square Medical Center
Rosedale, MD |
$12,189 | $10,913 |
|
Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center
Rockville, MD |
$12,645 | $11,183 |
|
Winchester Hospital
Winchester, MA |
$13,484 | $6,646 |
|
University Of Md Baltimore Washington Medical Center
Glen Burnie, MD |
$13,624 | $12,592 |
|
Medstar Good Samaritan Hospital
Baltimore, MD |
$13,630 | $12,129 |
|
South Shore Hospital
South Weymouth, MA |
$13,746 | $6,959 |
|
Unity Hospital
Rochester, NY |
$14,025 | $9,398 |
|
Northeast Hospital Corporation
Beverly, MA |
$14,917 | $6,894 |
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 |
$144,099 | $16,200 |
|
Westchester Medical Center
Valhalla, NY |
$127,690 | $10,470 |
|
Good Samaritan Hospital
San Jose, CA |
$121,591 | $9,267 |
|
Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center
Thousand Oaks, CA |
$109,526 | $9,586 |
|
Hca Florida North Florida Hospital
Gainesville, FL |
$103,017 | $7,995 |
|
Temple University Hospital
Philadelphia, PA |
$96,788 | $12,478 |
|
Riverside Community Hospital
Riverside, CA |
$95,442 | $11,070 |
|
Dominican Hospital
Santa Cruz, CA |
$93,483 | $8,959 |
|
Ucsf Medical Center
San Francisco, CA |
$91,687 | $15,931 |
|
Mountainview Hospital
Las Vegas, NV |
$90,920 | $9,111 |
|
Sunrise Hospital And Medical Center
Las Vegas, NV |
$90,321 | $8,160 |
|
Nyu Langone Hospitals
New York, NY |
$89,753 | $12,534 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue without Major?
Across 152 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Signs and Symptoms of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue without Major is $37,903. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $26,324 and the dearest quarter over $60,271.
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 without Major, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 4.3x 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. $8,626 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $45,169. 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 556: “SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE WITHOUT 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.