CostGrade
B

79/100

#372 nationally

Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center

1910 South Ave, La Crosse, WI 54601 · (608) 782-7300

Charges moderately above what care is paid for

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center billed $3.35 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
3.4x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
132
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in WI
#10
lower markup ranks higher
CMS quality stars
4/5
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 28.9/35

Better than 83% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 18.2/25

Better than 73% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 24.6/30

Better than 82% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 6.8/10

Better than 69% 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

1,584 $12,488 $2,029 +6%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

641 $12,897 $2,524 -34%
Level 1 Nerve Procedures

APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit

497 $7,295 $1,726 -36%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

490 $6,861 $1,521 -32%
Level 2 Urology and Related Services

APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit

476 $1,563 $636 -50%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

365 $6,252 $1,919 -52%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

277 $44,970 $11,875 -28%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

276 $31,365 $17,134 -52%
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

224 $20,336 $2,982 +6%
Level 2 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5492 · Hospital outpatient visit

205 $16,759 $3,802 -19%

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 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

$20,336 $2,982 +6%
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

$12,488 $2,029 +6%
Other Vascular Procedures with Complications

MS-DRG 253 · Inpatient stay

$116,435 $38,848 +4%
Level 4 ENT Procedures

APC 5164 · Hospital outpatient visit

$19,403 $3,033 about average
Level 5 ENT Procedures

APC 5165 · Hospital outpatient visit

$34,077 $5,517 about average
Level 1 Abdominal/peritoneal/biliary and Related Procedures

APC 5341 · Hospital outpatient visit

$22,842 $3,129 about average
Level 6 Urology and Related Services

APC 5376 · Hospital outpatient visit

$43,590 $8,089 about average
Level 5 Gynecologic Procedures

APC 5415 · Hospital outpatient visit

$29,392 $4,470 about average

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Red Blood Cell Disorders with Major Complications

MS-DRG 811 · Inpatient stay

$14,363 $11,963 -74%
Major Gastrointestinal Disorders and Peritoneal Infections with Major Complications

MS-DRG 371 · Inpatient stay

$20,701 $14,188 -70%
Respiratory System Diagnosis with Ventilator Support <=96 Hours

MS-DRG 208 · Inpatient stay

$34,610 $22,565 -70%
Other Circulatory System Diagnoses with Complications

MS-DRG 315 · Inpatient stay

$12,726 $8,547 -69%
Stroke (severe)

MS-DRG 064 · Inpatient stay

$25,394 $15,709 -67%
Seizures with Major Complications

MS-DRG 100 · Inpatient stay

$28,944 $14,836 -64%
Gastrointestinal Obstruction with Major Complications

MS-DRG 388 · Inpatient stay

$21,607 $11,815 -62%
Pulmonary Embolism with Major Complications or Acute Cor Pulmonale

MS-DRG 175 · Inpatient stay

$20,611 $11,762 -62%

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.