CostGrade
F

10/100

#2,385 nationally

Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin

1201 W 38Th St, Austin, TX 78705 · (512) 324-1000

Among the highest charge markups in the country

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin billed $9.15 in list charges. That gap does not change a Medicare patient's bill — but it is where an uninsured or out-of-network bill starts.

Charge-to-payment
9.1x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
114
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in TX
#161
lower markup ranks higher
CMS quality stars
3/5
shown for context, not in the grade

How this grade was reached

Each component is scored against every other U.S. hospital in the same federal files, so the grade is a position in the country, not a pass mark we invented.

Inpatient charge markup 3.4/35

Better than 10% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 2.6/25

Better than 10% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 3.4/30

Better than 11% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 0.9/10

Better than 9% of U.S. hospitals.

What this hospital treats most

The ten procedures it billed Medicare for most often, with its charge beside the national middle.

Procedure Patients Charged Actually paid vs national
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

257 $178,010 $11,547 +185%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

230 $129,158 $16,902 +98%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

212 $32,688 $2,391 +68%
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

184 $38,999 $2,873 +55%
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services

APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit

150 $67,125 $5,062 +91%
Level 3 Electrophysiologic Procedures

APC 5213 · Hospital outpatient visit

122 $181,672 $20,852 +37%
Level 2 Laparoscopy and Related Services

APC 5362 · Hospital outpatient visit

114 $94,838 $8,821 +59%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

105 $82,054 $12,280 +89%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

104 $12,036 $1,413 +19%
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit

98 $71,447 $6,297 +79%

Where its charges run furthest above the national middle

Only procedures it performed at least eleven times, so a single unusual case cannot produce the headline.

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Level 3 Airway Endoscopy

APC 5153 · Hospital outpatient visit

$55,870 $1,494 +390%
Combined Anterior and Posterior Spinal Fusion with Complications

MS-DRG 454 · Inpatient stay

$965,012 $120,448 +334%
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

$43,190 $2,051 +267%
Level 3 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures

APC 5223 · Hospital outpatient visit

$177,176 $9,393 +244%
Extensive Operating Room Procedures Unrelated to Principal Diagnosis with Major

MS-DRG 981 · Inpatient stay

$526,044 $53,711 +187%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

$178,010 $11,547 +185%
Level 6 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5116 · Hospital outpatient visit

$226,437 $16,369 +173%
Permanent Cardiac Pacemaker Implant without Complications/mcc

MS-DRG 244 · Inpatient stay

$207,619 $15,955 +172%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Level 4 Vascular Procedures

APC 5184 · Hospital outpatient visit

$32,461 $2,977 -10%
Fainting

MS-DRG 312 · Inpatient stay

$33,459 $8,476 -9%
Degenerative Nervous System Disorders without Major Complications

MS-DRG 057 · Inpatient stay

$52,863 $11,231 +10%
Level 1 Breast/lymphatic Surgery and Related Procedures

APC 5091 · Hospital outpatient visit

$27,392 $3,279 +15%
Hypertension without Major Complications

MS-DRG 305 · Inpatient stay

$38,810 $7,618 +16%
Skin Infection (without major complications)

MS-DRG 603 · Inpatient stay

$35,967 $9,041 +18%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

$12,036 $1,413 +19%
Back Problems (without major complications)

MS-DRG 552 · Inpatient stay

$47,223 $9,298 +21%

What this page cannot tell you

  • It is not your bill. These are averages across Medicare patients. What you pay depends on your insurance, your plan's negotiated rate and your own case.
  • It is not a quality rating. A hospital with a high markup may be excellent, and one with a low markup may not be. We checked: across every U.S. hospital, markup and the CMS quality star rating barely move together.
  • A charge is not a cost. Hospitals do not collect their list charges from insured patients. The number matters because it is the opening figure on an uninsured or out-of-network bill.
  • Ask for the real number. Every U.S. hospital must publish a machine-readable price file and give you a written good-faith estimate on request.