94/100
#14 nationally
Cambridge Health Alliance
1493 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 · (617) 665-1000
Charges close to what care is actually paid for
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Cambridge Health Alliance billed $1.20 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
- 1.2x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 38
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in MA
- #6
- 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 95% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 95% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 94% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 91% 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 |
113 | $4,987 | $2,485 | -58% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
109 | $31,295 | $27,491 | -52% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
85 | $26,435 | $22,034 | -39% |
|
Level 2 Urology and Related Services
APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit |
84 | $2,405 | $734 | -23% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
56 | $3,049 | $1,741 | -70% |
|
Pneumonia (severe)
MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay |
53 | $23,171 | $21,212 | -50% |
|
COPD (severe)
MS-DRG 190 · Inpatient stay |
51 | $18,202 | $18,546 | -57% |
|
Respiratory Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay |
40 | $28,791 | $24,604 | -48% |
|
Level 3 Urology and Related Services
APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit |
39 | $4,931 | $2,143 | -62% |
|
Level 2 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5112 · Hospital outpatient visit |
35 | $4,423 | $1,726 | -61% |
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 2 Urology and Related Services
APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$2,405 | $734 | -23% |
|
Level 3 Vascular Procedures
APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$13,107 | $3,423 | -31% |
|
Digestive Disorder (without major complications)
MS-DRG 392 · Inpatient stay |
$19,821 | $15,617 | -39% |
|
Kidney Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 682 · Inpatient stay |
$32,335 | $27,390 | -39% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
$26,435 | $22,034 | -39% |
|
Comprehensive Observation Services
APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$11,753 | $2,940 | -40% |
|
Heart Attack (severe)
MS-DRG 280 · Inpatient stay |
$36,427 | $28,117 | -41% |
|
Skin Infection (without major complications)
MS-DRG 603 · Inpatient stay |
$16,202 | $16,572 | -47% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$15,824 | $13,750 | -75% |
|
Hip or Knee Replacement (without major complications)
MS-DRG 470 · Inpatient stay |
$20,965 | $27,365 | -74% |
|
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$10,867 | $7,683 | -73% |
|
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$10,242 | $6,197 | -71% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$8,251 | $5,557 | -70% |
|
Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5113 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$6,123 | $3,476 | -70% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$3,049 | $1,741 | -70% |
|
Level 4 Gynecologic Procedures
APC 5414 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$6,076 | $3,358 | -67% |
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.