CostGrade
A

86/100

#164 nationally

Essentia Health Duluth

502 East Second Street, Duluth, MN 55805 · (218) 786-2652

Charges close to what care is actually paid for

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Essentia Health Duluth billed $2.97 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
36
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in MN
#10
lower markup ranks higher
CMS quality stars
Not rated
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 30.3/35

Better than 87% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 23.2/25

Better than 93% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 26.2/30

Better than 87% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 6.1/10

Better than 61% 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

634 $1,274 $636 -59%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

326 $2,785 $1,891 -78%
Level 1 Nerve Procedures

APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit

247 $8,916 $1,776 -21%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

234 $4,157 $1,492 -59%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

198 $38,592 $12,022 -38%
Psychoses

MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay

138 $34,704 $14,680 -4%
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit

96 $8,995 $2,596 -49%
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit

92 $26,188 $6,602 -34%
Level 6 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5116 · Hospital outpatient visit

84 $50,429 $17,310 -39%
Level 2 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures

APC 5462 · Hospital outpatient visit

67 $17,489 $5,226 -33%

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
Disorders of Personality and Impulse Control

MS-DRG 883 · Inpatient stay

$45,497 $25,313 about average
Psychoses

MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay

$34,704 $14,680 -4%
Level 5 ENT Procedures

APC 5165 · Hospital outpatient visit

$28,114 $5,265 -18%
Level 4 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures

APC 5464 · Hospital outpatient visit

$64,736 $18,615 -20%
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

$19,939 $3,038 -21%
Level 1 Nerve Procedures

APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit

$8,916 $1,776 -21%
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services

APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit

$26,303 $5,371 -25%
Heart Catheter Procedure (without major complications)

MS-DRG 322 · Inpatient stay

$74,955 $20,321 -26%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

$2,785 $1,891 -78%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

$4,503 $1,835 -77%
Level 3 Airway Endoscopy

APC 5153 · Hospital outpatient visit

$2,753 $1,580 -76%
Respiratory Failure

MS-DRG 189 · Inpatient stay

$12,440 $9,176 -74%
Level 2 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5112 · Hospital outpatient visit

$3,480 $1,496 -69%
Digestive Disorder (without major complications)

MS-DRG 392 · Inpatient stay

$10,130 $6,351 -69%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

$20,523 $14,011 -69%
Skin Infection (without major complications)

MS-DRG 603 · Inpatient stay

$10,253 $7,094 -66%

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.