91/100
#70 nationally
Lowell General Hospital
295 Varnum Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854 · (978) 937-6000
Charges close to what care is actually paid for
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Lowell General Hospital billed $2.30 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
- 2.3x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 156
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in MA
- #23
- 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 86% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 95% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 92% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 95% 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 |
828 | $8,872 | $2,900 | -54% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
460 | $21,786 | $11,423 | -50% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
414 | $33,200 | $16,936 | -49% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
317 | $7,972 | $1,724 | -21% |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
247 | $27,201 | $13,959 | -56% |
|
Pneumonia (severe)
MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay |
159 | $25,077 | $11,312 | -46% |
|
Respiratory Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay |
155 | $30,933 | $14,034 | -44% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
154 | $4,471 | $2,017 | -62% |
|
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit |
145 | $14,557 | $6,197 | -59% |
|
Level 3 Urology and Related Services
APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit |
137 | $8,095 | $2,162 | -37% |
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 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$14,777 | $3,027 | -16% |
|
Level 2 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures
APC 5462 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$21,832 | $7,345 | -17% |
|
Level 3 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures
APC 5223 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$40,897 | $11,454 | -21% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$7,972 | $1,724 | -21% |
|
Level 2 Breast/lymphatic Surgery and Related Procedures
APC 5092 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$28,571 | $7,003 | -28% |
|
Cervical Spinal Fusion with Complications
MS-DRG 472 · Inpatient stay |
$84,513 | $25,297 | -29% |
|
Organic Disturbances and Intellectual Disability
MS-DRG 884 · Inpatient stay |
$33,951 | $16,833 | -32% |
|
Level 2 Vascular Procedures
APC 5182 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$5,741 | $1,669 | -33% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Seizures with Major Complications
MS-DRG 100 · Inpatient stay |
$27,719 | $15,775 | -66% |
|
Poisoning and Toxic Effects of Drugs with Major Complications
MS-DRG 917 · Inpatient stay |
$24,212 | $13,569 | -64% |
|
Craniotomy and Endovascular Intracranial Procedures with Major Complications
MS-DRG 025 · Inpatient stay |
$68,859 | $32,410 | -64% |
|
Other Major Cardiovascular Procedures with Major Complications
MS-DRG 270 · Inpatient stay |
$82,209 | $38,663 | -63% |
|
Level 3 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5303 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$8,076 | $4,113 | -63% |
|
Level 5 Airway Endoscopy
APC 5155 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$14,472 | $7,351 | -62% |
|
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy without C.d.e. with Complications
MS-DRG 418 · Inpatient stay |
$31,294 | $14,151 | -62% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$4,471 | $2,017 | -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.