CostGrade
C

60/100

#951 nationally

Duke University Hospital

2301 Erwin Rd, Durham, NC 27705 · (919) 684-8111

Charges well above the national norm

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Duke University Hospital billed $3.62 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
3.6x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
312
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in NC
#36
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 24.5/35

Better than 70% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 13.4/25

Better than 54% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 17.0/30

Better than 57% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 5.1/10

Better than 51% 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 2 Urology and Related Services

APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit

1,492 $3,222 $613 about average
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

1,160 $14,837 $2,079 +26%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

879 $8,020 $1,422 -20%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

633 $16,085 $2,419 -17%
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

624 $20,292 $2,867 -20%
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures

APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit

603 $12,818 $1,683 +9%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

582 $9,018 $1,814 -30%
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit

568 $20,390 $2,545 +15%
Level 2 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5492 · Hospital outpatient visit

526 $20,735 $3,656 about average
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

518 $51,180 $11,678 -18%

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
Other Respiratory System Diagnoses without Major Complications

MS-DRG 206 · Inpatient stay

$97,163 $21,093 +110%
Chemotherapy with Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis or with High Dose Chemotherapy a

MS-DRG 837 · Inpatient stay

$359,737 $113,284 +93%
Chemotherapy without Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis with Major Complications

MS-DRG 846 · Inpatient stay

$196,898 $53,901 +83%
Level 1 Icd and Similar Procedures

APC 5231 · Hospital outpatient visit

$155,159 $21,208 +65%
Level 4 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures

APC 5464 · Hospital outpatient visit

$132,626 $19,684 +64%
Level 3 ENT Procedures

APC 5163 · Hospital outpatient visit

$10,165 $1,328 +59%
Level 5 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures

APC 5465 · Hospital outpatient visit

$161,572 $27,684 +43%
Endovascular Cardiac Valve Replacement and Supplement Procedures without Major

MS-DRG 267 · Inpatient stay

$262,179 $48,140 +38%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Other Myeloproliferative Disorders or Poorly Differentiated Neoplastic Diagnoses with Mc

MS-DRG 843 · Inpatient stay

$56,512 $23,214 -63%
Level 7 Radiation Therapy

APC 5627 · Hospital outpatient visit

$22,998 $6,806 -61%
Wound Debridement and Skin Graft Except Hand for Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue D

MS-DRG 463 · Inpatient stay

$119,904 $51,788 -58%
Other Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Operating Room Procedures without

MS-DRG 517 · Inpatient stay

$32,744 $16,879 -56%
Headaches without Major Complications

MS-DRG 103 · Inpatient stay

$20,810 $10,044 -55%
Myeloproliferative Disorders or Poorly Differentiated Neoplasms with Major Operating Room

MS-DRG 827 · Inpatient stay

$62,954 $25,730 -52%
Major Male Pelvic Procedures without Complications/mcc

MS-DRG 708 · Inpatient stay

$41,900 $16,272 -52%
Lymphoma and Leukemia with Major Operating Room Procedures without Complications/mcc

MS-DRG 822 · Inpatient stay

$38,458 $13,505 -51%

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.