Single Level Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without Major Complications — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 451 · Inpatient stay · 45 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $87,904
Typical charge
$118,263
Dearest quarter
over $162,165
Actually paid
$30,312
The middle U.S. hospital bills $118,263 for Single Level Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without Major Complications. The dearest hospitals charge about 4.5x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $30,312 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.
Single Level Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 5 | $68,293 | $35,359 – $288,374 |
| North Carolina | 3 | $92,073 | $87,904 – $155,634 |
| Illinois | 3 | $109,892 | $108,395 – $174,171 |
| California | 6 | $151,781 | $120,024 – $476,630 |
| New York | 3 | $162,473 | $152,878 – $375,930 |
Where Single Level Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Kell West Regional Hospital
Wichita Falls, TX |
$35,359 | $20,255 |
|
Oklahoma Surgical Hospital, Llc
Tulsa, OK |
$44,369 | $21,276 |
|
University Of Md St Joseph Medical Center
Towson, MD |
$44,947 | $39,500 |
|
Johns Hopkins Hospital, The
Baltimore, MD |
$54,318 | $48,210 |
|
Kansas Spine & Specialty Hospital, Llc
Wichita, KS |
$62,081 | $19,566 |
|
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Minneapolis, MN |
$65,700 | $24,254 |
|
University Of Utah Hospital And Clinics
Salt Lake City, UT |
$66,289 | $30,708 |
|
Baylor Scott & White Texas Spine & Joint Hospital
Tyler, TX |
$67,437 | $20,257 |
|
Deaconess Hospital Inc
Evansville, IN |
$68,250 | $24,018 |
|
Baylor Scott And White Surgical Hospital Fortworth
Fort Worth, TX |
$68,293 | $23,569 |
|
Bon Secours-St Francis Xavier Hospital
Charleston, SC |
$85,334 | $21,347 |
|
Rex Hospital
Raleigh, NC |
$87,904 | $21,033 |
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 |
$476,630 | $36,813 |
|
Nyu Langone Hospitals
New York, NY |
$375,930 | $45,632 |
|
University Of California Davis Medical Center
Sacramento, CA |
$337,494 | $43,107 |
|
Burke Medical Center
Waynesboro, GA |
$329,943 | $31,908 |
|
Hendrick Medical Center
Abilene, TX |
$288,374 | $24,173 |
|
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, TX |
$275,973 | $26,635 |
|
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Sarasota, FL |
$210,427 | $23,696 |
|
Huntsville Hospital
Huntsville, AL |
$191,837 | $23,911 |
|
Adventhealth Orlando
Orlando, FL |
$180,875 | $30,049 |
|
Edward Hospital
Naperville, IL |
$174,171 | $22,599 |
|
Hospital For Special Surgery
New York, NY |
$162,473 | $46,658 |
|
Ascension St Vincent Hospital
Indianapolis, IN |
$162,165 | $27,823 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Single Level Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without Major Complications?
Across 45 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Single Level Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without Major Complications is $118,263. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $87,904 and the dearest quarter over $162,165.
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 Single Level Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without Major Complications, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 4.5x 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. $30,312 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $141,893. 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 451: “SINGLE LEVEL SPINAL FUSION EXCEPT CERVICAL 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.