CostGrade
A

85/100

#183 nationally

Buffalo Hospital

303 Catlin Street, Buffalo, MN 55313 · (763) 682-1212

Charges close to what care is actually paid for

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Buffalo Hospital billed $2.99 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
3.0x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
21
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in MN
#12
lower markup ranks higher
CMS quality stars
5/5
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 30.7/35

Better than 88% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 20.5/25

Better than 82% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 25.1/30

Better than 84% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 9.2/10

Better than 92% 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 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

306 $8,909 $2,210 -24%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

111 $14,763 $2,598 -24%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

67 $30,381 $16,638 -53%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

47 $43,268 $12,562 -31%
Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5113 · Hospital outpatient visit

42 $15,262 $3,020 -25%
Hip or Knee Replacement (without major complications)

MS-DRG 470 · Inpatient stay

32 $48,035 $17,905 -40%
Level 3 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5493 · Hospital outpatient visit

29 $17,213 $4,996 -29%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

28 $23,377 $11,500 -46%
Level 2 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5112 · Hospital outpatient visit

23 $6,406 $1,403 -43%
Sepsis (without major complications)

MS-DRG 872 · Inpatient stay

21 $17,739 $9,365 -55%

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

$10,142 $1,846 -11%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

$14,763 $2,598 -24%
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

$8,909 $2,210 -24%
Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5113 · Hospital outpatient visit

$15,262 $3,020 -25%
Level 3 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5493 · Hospital outpatient visit

$17,213 $4,996 -29%
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit

$27,911 $6,475 -30%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

$43,268 $12,562 -31%
Level 2 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5492 · Hospital outpatient visit

$14,152 $3,887 -32%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Sepsis (without major complications)

MS-DRG 872 · Inpatient stay

$17,739 $9,365 -55%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

$30,381 $16,638 -53%
Pneumonia (with complications)

MS-DRG 194 · Inpatient stay

$14,987 $7,581 -53%
Pneumonia (severe)

MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay

$23,937 $11,287 -49%
Kidney Failure (with complications)

MS-DRG 683 · Inpatient stay

$17,039 $8,390 -48%
Stroke (with complications)

MS-DRG 065 · Inpatient stay

$23,806 $8,710 -48%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

$5,270 $1,431 -48%
Urinary Tract Infection (without major complications)

MS-DRG 690 · Inpatient stay

$15,939 $7,844 -46%

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.