78/100
#392 nationally
Boston Medical Center
1 Boston Medical Center Place, Boston, MA 02118 · (617) 638-8000
Charges moderately above what care is paid for
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Boston Medical Center billed $2.22 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
- 2.2x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 123
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in MA
- #40
- 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.
Better than 90% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 91% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 66% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 40% 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 |
928 | $14,523 | $2,927 | -25% |
|
Level 2 Urology and Related Services
APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit |
384 | $2,367 | $727 | -25% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
201 | $7,281 | $1,720 | -28% |
|
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit |
183 | $8,519 | $2,492 | -28% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
160 | $71,542 | $36,169 | +10% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
152 | $38,089 | $23,713 | -12% |
|
Level 4 ENT Procedures
APC 5164 · Hospital outpatient visit |
151 | $4,088 | $1,763 | -78% |
|
Level 3 Urology and Related Services
APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit |
125 | $6,322 | $2,161 | -51% |
|
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit |
107 | $13,842 | $3,000 | -22% |
|
Level 3 Vascular Procedures
APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit |
80 | $11,566 | $3,389 | -39% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Psychoses
MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay |
$78,853 | $31,411 | +119% |
|
Hip or Thigh Bone Surgery (severe)
MS-DRG 480 · Inpatient stay |
$189,502 | $63,586 | +61% |
|
Degenerative Nervous System Disorders without Major Complications
MS-DRG 057 · Inpatient stay |
$71,503 | $31,151 | +49% |
|
Traumatic Stupor and Coma >1 Hour with Major Complications
MS-DRG 082 · Inpatient stay |
$141,056 | $59,839 | +46% |
|
Craniotomy and Endovascular Intracranial Procedures with Major Complications
MS-DRG 025 · Inpatient stay |
$271,797 | $107,482 | +41% |
|
Red Blood Cell Disorders without Major Complications
MS-DRG 812 · Inpatient stay |
$49,440 | $22,036 | +33% |
|
Organic Disturbances and Intellectual Disability
MS-DRG 884 · Inpatient stay |
$64,003 | $35,387 | +28% |
|
Poisoning and Toxic Effects of Drugs with Major Complications
MS-DRG 917 · Inpatient stay |
$86,978 | $42,241 | +28% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 4 ENT Procedures
APC 5164 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$4,088 | $1,763 | -78% |
|
Level 3 Lower GI Procedures
APC 5313 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$5,802 | $3,015 | -65% |
|
Level 3 Airway Endoscopy
APC 5153 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$4,579 | $1,823 | -60% |
|
Level 1 Abdominal/peritoneal/biliary and Related Procedures
APC 5341 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$9,403 | $3,716 | -60% |
|
Level 8 Urology and Related Services
APC 5378 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$37,150 | $21,608 | -57% |
|
Level 1 Nerve Procedures
APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$5,052 | $2,074 | -55% |
|
Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5113 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$9,197 | $2,899 | -55% |
|
Level 1 Breast/lymphatic Surgery and Related Procedures
APC 5091 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$11,118 | $4,094 | -53% |
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.