Spinal Procedures with Major Complications — what U.S. hospitals charge

MS-DRG 028 · Inpatient stay · 15 U.S. hospitals publish a price

Cheapest quarter

under $178,958

Typical charge

$276,932

Dearest quarter

over $308,472

Actually paid

$68,873

The middle U.S. hospital bills $276,932 for Spinal Procedures with Major Complications. The dearest hospitals charge about 2.4x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $68,873 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 Spinal Procedures with 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
University Of Maryland Medical Center Baltimore, MD	$122,911	$112,908
Renown Regional Medical Center Reno, NV	$131,867	$46,811
Mayo Clinic Hospital Rochester Rochester, MN	$156,543	$78,242
Rhode Island Hospital Providence, RI	$172,127	$63,480
Riverside Methodist Hospital Columbus, OH	$185,790	$46,321
Houston Methodist Hospital Houston, TX	$215,028	$47,058
Musc Medical Center Charleston, SC	$276,791	$81,130
Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health Charlotte, NC	$276,932	$60,483
Ascension St Vincent Hospital Indianapolis, IN	$282,747	$56,486
Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center Houston, TX	$286,095	$54,891
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Philadelphia, PA	$305,242	$77,561
Ucsf Medical Center San Francisco, CA	$311,701	$90,621

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	$558,718	$62,354
Harborview Medical Center Seattle, WA	$341,138	$74,909
New York-Presbyterian Hospital New York, NY	$335,566	$79,840
Ucsf Medical Center San Francisco, CA	$311,701	$90,621
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Philadelphia, PA	$305,242	$77,561
Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center Houston, TX	$286,095	$54,891
Ascension St Vincent Hospital Indianapolis, IN	$282,747	$56,486
Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health Charlotte, NC	$276,932	$60,483
Musc Medical Center Charleston, SC	$276,791	$81,130
Houston Methodist Hospital Houston, TX	$215,028	$47,058
Riverside Methodist Hospital Columbus, OH	$185,790	$46,321
Rhode Island Hospital Providence, RI	$172,127	$63,480

Questions people ask

What do U.S. hospitals charge for Spinal Procedures with Major Complications?

Across 15 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Spinal Procedures with Major Complications is $276,932. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $178,958 and the dearest quarter over $308,472.

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 Procedures with Major Complications, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 2.4x 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. $68,873 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $268,229. 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 028: “SPINAL PROCEDURES 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.

Related procedures

Comprehensive Observation Services typically $19,434
Fluid and Electrolyte Disorder (severe) typically $48,503
Fluid and Electrolyte Disorder (without major complications) typically $30,556
Fainting typically $36,628
Major Small and Large Bowel Procedures with Complications typically $100,513
Red Blood Cell Disorders without Major Complications typically $37,191
Diabetes (with complications) typically $34,584
Major Small and Large Bowel Procedures with Major Complications typically $179,554

Before you are billed

Ask for a written good-faith estimate — you are entitled to one if you are uninsured or paying yourself.
Check the hospital's machine-readable price file; every U.S. hospital must publish one.
If you are insured, ask whether every provider involved is in network — the surprise usually comes from the ones you never met.

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