CostGrade
F

18/100

#2,217 nationally

Lehigh Valley Hospital

1200 South Cedar Crest Boulevard, Allentown, PA 18103 · (610) 402-8000

Among the highest charge markups in the country

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Lehigh Valley Hospital billed $7.56 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
7.6x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
328
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in PA
#104
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 5.2/35

Better than 15% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 5.1/25

Better than 21% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 5.7/30

Better than 19% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 2.2/10

Better than 22% 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 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

1,465 $85,743 $12,688 +37%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

1,138 $29,077 $2,620 +50%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

992 $110,274 $17,438 +69%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

830 $67,971 $11,706 +57%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

792 $21,920 $1,566 +117%
Level 1 Nerve Procedures

APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit

697 $12,032 $1,852 +6%
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit

622 $50,993 $6,860 +28%
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

619 $42,355 $3,161 +68%
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

511 $16,578 $2,270 +41%
Level 5 Urology and Related Services

APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit

413 $34,071 $5,018 +24%

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 Icd and Similar Procedures

APC 5232 · Hospital outpatient visit

$445,814 $31,990 +200%
Extracranial Procedures without Complications/mcc

MS-DRG 039 · Inpatient stay

$155,659 $15,058 +192%
Major Chest Procedures without Complications/mcc

MS-DRG 165 · Inpatient stay

$241,368 $16,263 +190%
Knee Procedures without Principal Diagnosis of Infection with Complications/mcc

MS-DRG 488 · Inpatient stay

$178,684 $18,938 +185%
Other Cardiothoracic Procedures with Major Complications

MS-DRG 228 · Inpatient stay

$641,642 $62,928 +184%
Level 4 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures

APC 5464 · Hospital outpatient visit

$228,598 $20,939 +183%
Level 2 Urology and Related Services

APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit

$8,699 $656 +177%
Disorders of Pancreas Except Malignancy with Major Complications

MS-DRG 438 · Inpatient stay

$183,789 $16,943 +164%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Dental and Oral Diseases with Major Complications

MS-DRG 157 · Inpatient stay

$90,464 $14,705 -40%
Concussion with Complications

MS-DRG 089 · Inpatient stay

$54,900 $11,163 -38%
Bone Diseases and Arthropathies with Major Complications

MS-DRG 553 · Inpatient stay

$55,546 $12,129 -34%
Osteomyelitis with Major Complications

MS-DRG 539 · Inpatient stay

$70,351 $15,521 -26%
Other Digestive System Diagnoses without Complications/mcc

MS-DRG 395 · Inpatient stay

$30,217 $6,104 -16%
Nervous System Neoplasms without Major Complications

MS-DRG 055 · Inpatient stay

$53,512 $10,335 -12%
Major Hematological and Immunological Diagnoses Except Sickle Cell Crisis and Coagulatio

MS-DRG 808 · Inpatient stay

$94,583 $20,057 -11%
Otitis Media and Uri without Major Complications

MS-DRG 153 · Inpatient stay

$40,873 $6,709 -9%

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.