40/100
#1,586 nationally
Blue Ridge Healthcare Hospitals, Inc
2201 S Sterling St, Morganton, NC 28655 · (828) 580-5000
Charges well above the national norm
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Blue Ridge Healthcare Hospitals, Inc billed $5.18 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
- 5.2x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 56
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in NC
- #59
- lower markup ranks higher
- CMS quality stars
- 4/5
- 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.
Better than 50% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 25% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 41% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 43% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
194 | $63,196 | $15,394 | -3% |
|
Comprehensive Observation Services
APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit |
189 | $22,506 | $2,319 | +16% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
111 | $17,038 | $1,632 | +45% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
94 | $13,008 | $1,411 | +29% |
|
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit |
93 | $58,775 | $5,959 | +47% |
|
Level 1 Nerve Procedures
APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit |
84 | $23,619 | $1,654 | +108% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
81 | $42,725 | $10,831 | about average |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
76 | $75,996 | $11,052 | +22% |
|
Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5113 · Hospital outpatient visit |
66 | $28,338 | $2,740 | +39% |
|
Respiratory Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay |
58 | $51,022 | $13,781 | -7% |
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 |
$23,619 | $1,654 | +108% |
|
Level 2 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5492 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$36,057 | $3,538 | +74% |
|
Level 2 Vascular Procedures
APC 5182 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$14,419 | $1,394 | +68% |
|
Level 2 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5112 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$17,821 | $1,376 | +59% |
|
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$58,775 | $5,959 | +47% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$17,038 | $1,632 | +45% |
|
Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5113 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$28,338 | $2,740 | +39% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$13,008 | $1,411 | +29% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Stroke (severe)
MS-DRG 064 · Inpatient stay |
$47,300 | $13,421 | -38% |
|
Infection Needing Surgery (severe)
MS-DRG 853 · Inpatient stay |
$130,620 | $33,141 | -27% |
|
Level 2 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures
APC 5222 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$28,189 | $7,393 | -26% |
|
Heart Attack (severe)
MS-DRG 280 · Inpatient stay |
$45,752 | $12,427 | -25% |
|
Fractures of Hip and Pelvis without Major Complications
MS-DRG 536 · Inpatient stay |
$24,642 | $7,645 | -25% |
|
Major Small and Large Bowel Procedures with Complications
MS-DRG 330 · Inpatient stay |
$77,628 | $19,796 | -23% |
|
Level 3 Vascular Procedures
APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$15,149 | $2,692 | -21% |
|
Transient Ischemia without Thrombolytic
MS-DRG 069 · Inpatient stay |
$34,226 | $7,483 | -17% |
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.