CostGrade
B

79/100

#377 nationally

Mercy Hospital South

10010 Kennerly Road, Saint Louis, MO 63128 · (314) 525-1000

Charges moderately above what care is paid for

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Mercy Hospital South billed $3.43 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
175
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in MO
#8
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.

Inpatient charge markup 22.4/35

Better than 64% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 21.9/25

Better than 88% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 25.9/30

Better than 86% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 9.2/10

Better than 92% 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
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

515 $49,785 $13,662 -24%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

416 $14,134 $2,402 -27%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

266 $36,376 $9,207 -16%
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures

APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit

255 $6,066 $1,680 -48%
Psychoses

MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay

240 $19,958 $9,777 -45%
Level 1 Nerve Procedures

APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit

219 $8,056 $1,666 -29%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

211 $7,211 $1,426 -28%
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

196 $9,171 $2,792 -52%
Respiratory Infection (severe)

MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay

167 $39,208 $11,610 -29%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

165 $28,867 $11,332 -54%

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
Coagulation Disorders

MS-DRG 813 · Inpatient stay

$81,356 $14,653 +21%
Sepsis

MS-DRG 870 · Inpatient stay

$244,548 $50,960 -9%
COPD (with complications)

MS-DRG 191 · Inpatient stay

$29,658 $9,197 -11%
Seizures with Major Complications

MS-DRG 100 · Inpatient stay

$68,647 $15,528 -15%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

$36,376 $9,207 -16%
Alcohol, Drug Abuse or Dependence without Rehabilitation Therapy with Major Complications

MS-DRG 896 · Inpatient stay

$54,226 $14,018 -17%
Level 3 Electrophysiologic Procedures

APC 5213 · Hospital outpatient visit

$107,121 $20,867 -19%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

$49,785 $13,662 -24%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Major Hematological and Immunological Diagnoses Except Sickle Cell Crisis and Coagulatio

MS-DRG 808 · Inpatient stay

$32,227 $15,192 -70%
Degenerative Nervous System Disorders with Major Complications

MS-DRG 056 · Inpatient stay

$30,492 $16,149 -65%
Level 3 Upper GI Procedures

APC 5303 · Hospital outpatient visit

$7,818 $3,408 -64%
Other Disorders of Nervous System with Complications

MS-DRG 092 · Inpatient stay

$16,672 $7,350 -63%
Other Disorders of Nervous System with Major Complications

MS-DRG 091 · Inpatient stay

$26,581 $12,369 -63%
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy without C.d.e. without Complications/mcc

MS-DRG 419 · Inpatient stay

$28,099 $9,892 -60%
Complex GI Procedures

APC 5331 · Hospital outpatient visit

$12,313 $4,831 -59%
Level 1 Abdominal/peritoneal/biliary and Related Procedures

APC 5341 · Hospital outpatient visit

$9,594 $3,002 -59%

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.