78/100
#399 nationally
Helen Keller Hospital
1300 South Montgomery Avenue, Sheffield, AL 35660 · (256) 386-4556
Charges moderately above what care is paid for
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Helen Keller Hospital billed $3.49 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
- 3.5x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 47
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in AL
- #13
- 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 61% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 90% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 85% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 85% 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 |
154 | $12,811 | $2,208 | -34% |
|
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit |
136 | $5,336 | $1,842 | -55% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
94 | $42,241 | $12,551 | -35% |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
91 | $25,913 | $10,568 | -59% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
80 | $26,915 | $8,442 | -38% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
71 | $8,975 | $4,048 | -67% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
67 | $6,747 | $1,540 | -43% |
|
Level 3 Urology and Related Services
APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit |
63 | $7,929 | $1,636 | -39% |
|
Level 4 Urology and Related Services
APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit |
63 | $7,999 | $2,730 | -61% |
|
Urinary Tract Infection (without major complications)
MS-DRG 690 · Inpatient stay |
61 | $18,200 | $5,703 | -39% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
COPD (with complications)
MS-DRG 191 · Inpatient stay |
$29,932 | $5,833 | -10% |
|
Respiratory Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay |
$49,453 | $10,948 | -10% |
|
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$30,652 | $4,369 | -13% |
|
Fluid and Electrolyte Disorder (severe)
MS-DRG 640 · Inpatient stay |
$39,938 | $8,273 | -18% |
|
Skin Infection (without major complications)
MS-DRG 603 · Inpatient stay |
$23,363 | $6,101 | -23% |
|
Pneumonia (with complications)
MS-DRG 194 · Inpatient stay |
$24,132 | $5,881 | -24% |
|
Urinary Tract Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 689 · Inpatient stay |
$29,492 | $7,903 | -28% |
|
Sepsis (without major complications)
MS-DRG 872 · Inpatient stay |
$27,360 | $6,756 | -30% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 3 Vascular Procedures
APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$6,208 | $2,611 | -68% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$8,975 | $4,048 | -67% |
|
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$15,410 | $5,585 | -61% |
|
Level 4 Urology and Related Services
APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$7,999 | $2,730 | -61% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$3,946 | $1,215 | -61% |
|
Infection Needing Surgery (severe)
MS-DRG 853 · Inpatient stay |
$71,482 | $28,728 | -60% |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$25,913 | $10,568 | -59% |
|
Hip Replacement with Principal Diagnosis of Hip Fracture without Major Complications
MS-DRG 522 · Inpatient stay |
$36,575 | $13,745 | -57% |
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.