64/100
#810 nationally
Catawba Valley Medical Center
810 Fairgrove Church Rd, Hickory, NC 28602 · (828) 326-3809
Charges moderately above what care is paid for
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Catawba Valley Medical Center billed $4.09 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
- 4.1x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 67
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in NC
- #33
- 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.
Better than 66% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 62% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 65% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 55% 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 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
223 | $41,834 | $11,534 | -33% |
|
Comprehensive Observation Services
APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit |
211 | $19,339 | $2,392 | about average |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
180 | $10,889 | $1,421 | +8% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
140 | $40,308 | $14,445 | -38% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
105 | $25,187 | $4,539 | -8% |
|
Level 3 Urology and Related Services
APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit |
100 | $7,897 | $1,698 | -39% |
|
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit |
81 | $30,657 | $5,053 | -13% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
71 | $9,606 | $1,682 | -18% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
65 | $30,236 | $2,883 | +20% |
|
Level 4 Urology and Related Services
APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit |
65 | $17,526 | $3,052 | -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 2 Vascular Procedures
APC 5182 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$15,158 | $1,414 | +77% |
|
Level 3 Extraocular, Repair, and Plastic Eye Procedures
APC 5503 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$22,097 | $2,063 | +53% |
|
Level 3 Vascular Procedures
APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$23,614 | $2,809 | +24% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$30,236 | $2,883 | +20% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$10,889 | $1,421 | +8% |
|
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$12,615 | $2,058 | +7% |
|
Level 1 Abdominal/peritoneal/biliary and Related Procedures
APC 5341 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$24,465 | $2,956 | +5% |
|
Level 4 Airway Endoscopy
APC 5154 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$22,784 | $3,212 | about average |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sepsis
MS-DRG 870 · Inpatient stay |
$104,007 | $39,117 | -61% |
|
Level 2 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5112 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$5,212 | $1,417 | -54% |
|
Kidney Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 682 · Inpatient stay |
$26,151 | $11,504 | -51% |
|
Gastrointestinal Bleeding (severe)
MS-DRG 377 · Inpatient stay |
$35,175 | $12,904 | -51% |
|
Infection Needing Surgery (severe)
MS-DRG 853 · Inpatient stay |
$89,904 | $36,059 | -49% |
|
Stroke (severe)
MS-DRG 064 · Inpatient stay |
$40,271 | $14,496 | -47% |
|
Level 2 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5362 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$33,292 | $9,074 | -44% |
|
COPD (severe)
MS-DRG 190 · Inpatient stay |
$23,843 | $9,007 | -43% |
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.