64/100
#820 nationally
Kern Medical Center
1700 Mount Vernon Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93306 · (661) 326-2000
Charges moderately above what care is paid for
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Kern Medical Center billed $3.21 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
- 3.2x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 27
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in CA
- #9
- lower markup ranks higher
- CMS quality stars
- 1/5
- 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 81% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 68% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 44% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 52% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Psychoses
MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay |
61 | $55,231 | $22,053 | +53% |
|
Comprehensive Observation Services
APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit |
50 | $15,003 | $3,300 | -23% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
48 | $74,264 | $26,786 | +14% |
|
Level 3 Vascular Procedures
APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit |
41 | $21,302 | $3,843 | +11% |
|
Level 4 Urology and Related Services
APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit |
35 | $21,983 | $4,203 | +6% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
29 | $8,625 | $2,294 | -27% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
26 | $37,706 | $6,238 | +37% |
|
Red Blood Cell Disorders without Major Complications
MS-DRG 812 · Inpatient stay |
23 | $35,934 | $14,607 | -3% |
|
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit |
22 | $36,028 | $8,623 | -10% |
|
Urinary Tract Infection (without major complications)
MS-DRG 690 · Inpatient stay |
19 | $24,610 | $13,098 | -17% |
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 2 Vascular Procedures
APC 5182 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$14,263 | $1,931 | +66% |
|
Psychoses
MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay |
$55,231 | $22,053 | +53% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$37,706 | $6,238 | +37% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$13,101 | $1,903 | +30% |
|
Level 2 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5192 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$42,592 | $6,891 | +23% |
|
Fluid and Electrolyte Disorder (without major complications)
MS-DRG 641 · Inpatient stay |
$35,398 | $12,512 | +16% |
|
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$20,129 | $3,426 | +14% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
$74,264 | $26,786 | +14% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Diabetes (with complications)
MS-DRG 638 · Inpatient stay |
$21,285 | $12,967 | -38% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$8,625 | $2,294 | -27% |
|
Level 4 Airway Endoscopy
APC 5154 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$16,688 | $4,515 | -26% |
|
Comprehensive Observation Services
APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$15,003 | $3,300 | -23% |
|
Urinary Tract Infection (without major complications)
MS-DRG 690 · Inpatient stay |
$24,610 | $13,098 | -17% |
|
Seizures without Major Complications
MS-DRG 101 · Inpatient stay |
$35,521 | $14,346 | -13% |
|
Skin Infection (without major complications)
MS-DRG 603 · Inpatient stay |
$26,739 | $13,982 | -12% |
|
Level 5 ENT Procedures
APC 5165 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$30,543 | $7,060 | -11% |
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.