CostGrade
C

47/100

#1,339 nationally

Baptist Health - Fort Smith

1001 Towson Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72901 · (479) 441-4000

Charges well above the national norm

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Baptist Health - Fort Smith billed $5.33 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
5.3x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
100
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in AR
#28
lower markup ranks higher
CMS quality stars
2/5
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 10.1/35

Better than 29% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 13.8/25

Better than 55% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 16.8/30

Better than 56% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 6.5/10

Better than 65% 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
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

556 $19,090 $2,286 about average
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

259 $69,287 $12,992 +6%
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

226 $18,849 $2,751 -25%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

167 $41,365 $8,567 -5%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

165 $9,642 $1,320 -4%
Pneumonia (severe)

MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay

147 $45,964 $8,962 about average
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

138 $13,838 $2,680 -28%
Level 4 Urology and Related Services

APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit

132 $15,862 $2,929 -23%
Respiratory Infection (severe)

MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay

106 $54,159 $10,807 about average
Heart Attack (severe)

MS-DRG 280 · Inpatient stay

106 $52,352 $10,562 -15%

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 1 Nerve Procedures

APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit

$16,986 $1,243 +50%
Level 2 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5112 · Hospital outpatient visit

$15,848 $1,367 +41%
Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5113 · Hospital outpatient visit

$27,071 $2,660 +33%
Major Small and Large Bowel Procedures with Major Complications

MS-DRG 329 · Inpatient stay

$236,359 $45,656 +32%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

$15,755 $1,698 +22%
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures

APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit

$13,779 $1,618 +17%
Level 1 Abdominal/peritoneal/biliary and Related Procedures

APC 5341 · Hospital outpatient visit

$26,892 $2,884 +16%
Digestive Disorder (without major complications)

MS-DRG 392 · Inpatient stay

$36,846 $5,898 +14%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Disorders of Liver Except Malignancy, Cirrhosis or Alcoholic Hepatitis with Major

MS-DRG 441 · Inpatient stay

$36,675 $10,837 -52%
Carotid Artery Stent Procedures with Complications

MS-DRG 035 · Inpatient stay

$48,196 $18,980 -49%
Level 4 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures

APC 5224 · Hospital outpatient visit

$52,084 $16,538 -45%
Level 3 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures

APC 5223 · Hospital outpatient visit

$28,467 $8,939 -45%
Endovascular Cardiac Valve Replacement and Supplement Procedures without Major

MS-DRG 267 · Inpatient stay

$105,772 $32,268 -44%
Level 6 Urology and Related Services

APC 5376 · Hospital outpatient visit

$26,069 $7,835 -41%
Aortic and Heart Assist Procedures Except Pulsation Balloon without Major Complications

MS-DRG 269 · Inpatient stay

$99,027 $28,221 -40%
Pulmonary Embolism with Major Complications or Acute Cor Pulmonale

MS-DRG 175 · Inpatient stay

$33,330 $9,062 -39%

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.