Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without Major Complications — what U.S. hospitals charge
MS-DRG 460 · Inpatient stay · 656 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $101,487
Typical charge
$144,936
Dearest quarter
over $201,148
Actually paid
$33,336
The middle U.S. hospital bills $144,936 for Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without Major Complications. The dearest hospitals charge about 3.8x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $33,336 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 19 | $55,732 | $36,379 – $87,560 |
| Massachusetts | 17 | $74,936 | $52,433 – $144,856 |
| Rhode Island | 3 | $79,973 | $71,572 – $83,239 |
| Alabama | 11 | $90,395 | $41,011 – $406,652 |
| Mississippi | 6 | $93,582 | $63,031 – $286,728 |
| Minnesota | 10 | $96,454 | $70,057 – $155,568 |
| Montana | 4 | $103,528 | $64,419 – $131,655 |
| Michigan | 18 | $104,829 | $64,306 – $210,912 |
| Wisconsin | 8 | $106,989 | $86,131 – $178,061 |
| Utah | 6 | $108,262 | $79,169 – $189,883 |
| Arkansas | 8 | $113,274 | $49,380 – $244,249 |
| Nebraska | 6 | $114,234 | $67,880 – $189,473 |
| Kansas | 12 | $117,038 | $68,262 – $312,273 |
| Iowa | 8 | $117,330 | $84,319 – $150,597 |
| Ohio | 29 | $122,684 | $85,859 – $232,422 |
| Connecticut | 7 | $122,998 | $90,784 – $178,412 |
| Louisiana | 11 | $125,609 | $85,830 – $376,322 |
| New Hampshire | 5 | $126,430 | $87,084 – $301,911 |
| Oklahoma | 13 | $126,924 | $45,317 – $433,832 |
| Missouri | 18 | $128,530 | $66,185 – $288,659 |
| Idaho | 6 | $131,571 | $76,288 – $223,873 |
| Pennsylvania | 35 | $131,576 | $36,824 – $292,368 |
| Oregon | 4 | $132,004 | $102,792 – $177,855 |
| South Dakota | 6 | $133,468 | $81,611 – $215,158 |
| Illinois | 23 | $134,183 | $82,874 – $350,378 |
| North Carolina | 22 | $144,403 | $84,891 – $221,696 |
| Tennessee | 14 | $146,993 | $75,016 – $259,647 |
| West Virginia | 4 | $148,526 | $89,988 – $163,449 |
| Texas | 47 | $152,189 | $40,747 – $573,462 |
| South Carolina | 17 | $154,560 | $85,800 – $323,290 |
| Washington | 9 | $157,130 | $121,318 – $212,103 |
| New York | 29 | $160,171 | $51,469 – $408,953 |
| Virginia | 22 | $161,510 | $69,820 – $695,913 |
| New Jersey | 19 | $165,859 | $116,319 – $416,286 |
| Georgia | 20 | $175,649 | $92,557 – $305,888 |
| Alaska | 3 | $176,893 | $145,016 – $487,455 |
| Indiana | 18 | $182,535 | $64,100 – $484,969 |
| California | 43 | $195,565 | $35,835 – $549,607 |
| District of Columbia | 4 | $204,681 | $100,020 – $465,768 |
| Arizona | 17 | $204,823 | $89,264 – $640,919 |
| Nevada | 4 | $218,123 | $84,199 – $425,174 |
| Florida | 48 | $222,836 | $97,190 – $413,183 |
| Colorado | 9 | $224,454 | $89,043 – $466,914 |
| Kentucky | 6 | $247,441 | $80,623 – $330,238 |
Where 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Fresno Surgical Hospital
Fresno, CA |
$35,835 | $33,901 |
|
University Of Md St Joseph Medical Center
Towson, MD |
$36,379 | $32,528 |
|
Excela Health Latrobe Hospital
Latrobe, PA |
$36,824 | $27,067 |
|
Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, Inc
Annapolis, MD |
$37,343 | $34,727 |
|
Kell West Regional Hospital
Wichita Falls, TX |
$40,747 | $23,116 |
|
Usa Health Hca Providence Hospital, Llc
Mobile, AL |
$41,011 | $22,859 |
|
Meritus Medical Center
Hagerstown, MD |
$44,858 | $41,935 |
|
Northeastern Health System
Tahlequah, OK |
$45,317 | $25,554 |
|
Heritage Valley Sewickley
Sewickley, PA |
$45,616 | $23,691 |
|
Tidalhealth Peninsula Regional, Inc
Salisbury, MD |
$46,825 | $41,951 |
|
Mercy Medical Center Inc
Baltimore, MD |
$47,853 | $41,810 |
|
Arkansas Surgical Hospital
No Little Rock, AR |
$49,380 | $22,647 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Cjw Medical Center
Richmond, VA |
$695,913 | $25,230 |
|
St Joseph's Hospital
Tucson, AZ |
$640,919 | $28,308 |
|
Henrico Doctors' Hospital
Richmond, VA |
$597,512 | $26,190 |
|
Medical City Plano
Plano, TX |
$573,462 | $31,184 |
|
Baptist Medical Center
San Antonio, TX |
$558,037 | $32,088 |
|
El Camino Health
Mountain View, CA |
$549,607 | $56,149 |
|
Alaska Regional Hospital
Anchorage, AK |
$487,455 | $46,062 |
|
Northwest Health - Porter
Valparaiso, IN |
$484,969 | $38,584 |
|
Medical City Fort Worth
Fort Worth, TX |
$471,521 | $36,053 |
|
Sky Ridge Medical Center
Lone Tree, CO |
$466,914 | $35,185 |
|
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA |
$466,289 | $47,921 |
|
George Washington Univ Hospital
Washington, DC |
$465,768 | $42,187 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without Major Complications?
Across 656 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without Major Complications is $144,936. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $101,487 and the dearest quarter over $201,148.
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 Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without Major Complications, 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. $33,336 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $167,448. 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 460: “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.