78/100
#395 nationally
Erie County Medical Center
462 Grider Street, Buffalo, NY 14215 · (716) 898-3936
Charges moderately above what care is paid for
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Erie County Medical Center billed $2.60 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
- 2.6x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 78
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in NY
- #47
- 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 79% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 95% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 76% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 41% 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 |
252 | $15,706 | $2,875 | -19% |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
123 | $23,465 | $13,649 | -62% |
|
Level 4 ENT Procedures
APC 5164 · Hospital outpatient visit |
117 | $9,771 | $3,334 | -48% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
96 | $9,695 | $1,638 | -4% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
90 | $68,159 | $25,458 | +4% |
|
Alcohol, Drug Abuse or Dependence without Rehabilitation Therapy without Major
MS-DRG 897 · Inpatient stay |
75 | $18,781 | $11,101 | -42% |
|
Level 2 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5192 · Hospital outpatient visit |
72 | $9,018 | $5,993 | -74% |
|
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit |
62 | $15,493 | $7,422 | -61% |
|
Level 6 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5116 · Hospital outpatient visit |
62 | $33,633 | $19,419 | -59% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
60 | $37,333 | $15,980 | -14% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Urinary Tract Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 689 · Inpatient stay |
$71,635 | $14,821 | +76% |
|
Pneumonia (severe)
MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay |
$70,411 | $22,947 | +51% |
|
Kidney Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 682 · Inpatient stay |
$74,813 | $22,769 | +41% |
|
Major Chest Trauma with Complications
MS-DRG 184 · Inpatient stay |
$51,847 | $13,595 | +6% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
$68,159 | $25,458 | +4% |
|
Fracture, Sprain, Strain and Dislocation Except Femur, Hip, Pelvis and Thigh without
MS-DRG 563 · Inpatient stay |
$36,023 | $11,298 | about average |
|
Fainting
MS-DRG 312 · Inpatient stay |
$35,518 | $10,853 | -3% |
|
Infection Needing Surgery (severe)
MS-DRG 853 · Inpatient stay |
$171,586 | $68,048 | -4% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 4 Urology and Related Services
APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$4,264 | $3,696 | -79% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$5,734 | $5,292 | -79% |
|
Level 3 Urology and Related Services
APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$3,287 | $2,160 | -75% |
|
Level 2 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5192 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$9,018 | $5,993 | -74% |
|
Level 3 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5193 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$20,549 | $11,101 | -70% |
|
Extensive Operating Room Procedures Unrelated to Principal Diagnosis with Major
MS-DRG 981 · Inpatient stay |
$62,024 | $46,802 | -66% |
|
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$12,102 | $6,118 | -66% |
|
Other Vascular Procedures with Major Complications
MS-DRG 252 · Inpatient stay |
$51,444 | $34,478 | -65% |
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.